uc-NRU;,, 


727    ODE 


UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA. 


OF" 


PACIFIC  THEOLOGICAL  SEMINARY. 

Accession     -^84548  ___        Class 


Pacific  Theological  Seminary. 


ALCOVE, 


SHELF, 


ESTflTE  OF  T.B.BICELOW 


THE 


HISTORY  OF  WISCONSIN 

IN  TIIKEE  PARTS, 

£}0tttmettterjj,  anfr 


COMPILED  BY  DIRECTION  OF  THE  LEGISLATURE  OP  THE  STATE. 


BY 


WILLIAM   R.  SMITH, 

PRESIDENT   OF   THE    STATE    HISTORICAL    SOCIETY   OF   TVISCOXSIW, 


PART  L— HISTORICAL. 
VOL.  L 


MADTSON,  WIS.: 

BERIAH    BKOWN,    PRINTEK. 
1854. 


ffis  W&tafo, 

o 


Commenced  under  their  direction,  and  fostered  by  their  generosity; 
designed  as  a  compilation  of  ancient  annals  in  relation  to  this  portion  of 
the  Mississippi  Valley ;  intended  to  form  the  foundation  of  a  truthful 
History  of  the  State,  to  be  collected  and  preserved  from  time  to  time, 
•while  passing  events  are  fresh  in  the  memories  of  contemporaries;  pro 
fessing  to.  exhibit  an  accurate  picture,  at  the  present  day;  of  a  region  cf 
country  whose  beauty  of  scenery,  fertility  of  soil,  mineral  wealth,  facilities 
of  commerce  internal  and  external,  and  healthy  climate,  are  unsurpassed 
in  the  Union,  and  whose  rapid  growth  in  population,  and  still  increasing 
prosperity,  have  hitherto  been  unexampled  in  the  history  of  our  land ,  the 
compilation  of  the  same  being  now  published  under  legislative  authority, 
it  is  most  properly,  and  very  respectfully, 

DEDICATED 

®0  t\t  DMJU  0f  %  State  0f  Misnmsin, 

Ey  their  Fellow-Citizen, 


WILLIAM  RUDOLPH  SMITH. 


MINERAL  POIST,  IOWA  COUNTY, 
Wisconsin,  July  tth,  1854.     , 


UN 

>«NV 


-84548 


•&  ^ 

ff  f*:*  ?  w>?  ^ 


CONTENTS. 


INTRODUCTORY /^e    11 

CHAPTER  1. 

NEW  FRANCE  AND  LOUISIANA. 

Early  History — Mississippi  Valley — Discovery  of  Florida — Ponce  de  Leon, 
Miruelo,  Nnrvaez,  De  Soto — Discovery  of  the  Mississippi,  and  fate  of  De  Soto 
— Charter  Grant  of  New  France — Jesuit  Missionaries,  zeal  and  success — Re;ich 
the  Western  Lakes — Enterprising  views  of  Discovery — Mesnard,  Allouez, 
Marquette — Views  of  the  Intendant  Talon — Great  Congress  of  Indian  Na 
tions  at  the  Falls  of  St.  Mary — Enterprise  of  Marquette  and  Joliet — Dangers 
pointed  out  by  the  Indians — Fox  River,  Portage,  and  Wisconsin — Upper 
Mississippi  discovered — The  Illini  Indians  hospitable — The  Missouri  passed, 
the  Ouabache  reached,  and  the  Mississippi  descended  to  below  the  Arkansas 
— Return  of  Marquette  and  Joliet  to  Green  B;iy — Juliet's  papers  lost — Death, 
of  Marquette — De  la  Salle,  his  enterprise,  protected  and  encouraged  by  Col 
bert  and  Seignelay — Builds  a  vessel  on  Niagara  River,  and  navigates  the 
Upper  Lakes — lie  reaches  the  sources  of  the  Illinois  River — Descends  and 
'builds  a  Fort — Learns  the  course  of  the  Mississippi  River,  loses  his  vessel  on 
the  Lakes,  and  resolves  to  build  a  new  one — Defpatohes  Hennepin  on  a  voy 
age  of  discovery  up  the  Mississippi — Leaves  Tonti  in  command,  and  returns 
on  foot  to  Fort  Frontenac — Tonti  builds  Rock  Fort — Is  driven  away  by  the 
Indians — La  Salle  returns,  descends  the  Mississippi  to  the  sea,  and  takes  pos 
session  of  the  country,  by  the  name  of  Louisiana — Returns  to  France,  pro 
cures  a  fleet,  and  endeavours  to  discover  the  mouth  of  the  Mississippi  by  sea 
— Passes  the  mouth,  and  lands  in  St.  Bernard's  Bay — His  misfortunes,  fruit 
less  searches,  and  assassination — Joutel  and  Anastasius  return  by  the  Missis 
sippi  to  Fort  Crevecceur,  and  thence  to  Quebec — Attempts  to  decry  the  merits 
of  La  Salle's  discoveries — Hennepin's  alleged  discoveries — His  two  publica 
tions,  and  interpolations — The  claims  of  England  to  the  Mississippi  founded 
on  Hennepin's  books — The  claims  of  France — Conflicting  opinions  of  French 
and  English  Colonists — New  France  neglected — French  possessions  in  the 
West  include  the  whole  Valley  of  the  Mississippi — Iberville  and  his  brothers 
— Expedition  fitted  out  to  discover  the  mouth  of  the  Mississippi — Iberville 
successful — Passes  up  the  River — Finds  a  letter  from  Tonti  to  La  Salle — 
Builds  a  Fort  at  Biloxi,  and  returns  to  France — Possession  taken  of  the  whole 
basin  of  the  Mississippi,  by  France,  under  the  name  of  Louisiana 23 

NOTES  TO  CHAPTER  1 301 

CHAPTER  II. 

VALLEY  OF  THE  MISSISSIPPI. 

-Settlement  by  Iberville— Progress  of  the  French  in  Settlements  from  the  St. 
Lawrence  to  the  Mississippi  Valley — K:iskaski:i,  Peoria — Fathers  Gravier  and 
Marest,  Montigny  and  Daviou — Religious  zeal  and  commercial  enterprise — 

5 


CONTENTS. 

Views  of  La  Salle  with  respect  to  the  Illinois  country — Communication  be 
tween  Quebec  and  the  Gulf  of  Mexico — Jealousy,  and  claim  of  England — 
Exploring  Expedition  on  part  of  England — Explorations  by  Bienville  and 
Sauvole — Application  of  French  Protestant  emigrants — Bienville  prevents  the 
English  from  taking  possession  of  the  Mississippi — Belief  still  entertained  of 
the  route  by  water  to  the  South  Sea — Also  of  the  existence  of  gold  and  silver 
mines,  &c.  in  the  country — French  views  not  agricultural — Le  Sueur  on  the 
Upper  Mississippi — Fallacious  views  as  to  the  natural  productions  of  the 
country — Baron  La  Hontan,  his  travels  and  discoveries — Mixture  of  the  true, 
and  the  romantic  and  fabulous — The  Illinois  country,  its  extent — The  Five 
Nations,  their  relations  to  France  and  England — Grand  Council  called  by  De 
Callieres— The  post  and  settlement  of  Detroit  founded— Other  posts  growing 
up,  in  the  West — Allies  of  the  English  in  Wisconsin — Attempt  on  Detroit — 
Trade  of  the  West — Armed  occupation  by  France  of  the  Mississippi  Valley 
— Forts  Chartres,  Cahokia,  Prairie  du  Rocher,  Kaskaskia — Treaty  of  Utrecht, 
its  want  of  effect — Unsettled  questions  of  boundaries — Localities  of  the  Indian 
tribes — The  Indians  of  the  Northwest — Colony  at  the  mouth  of  the  Missis 
sippi — Its  neglect  of  agriculture  and  wild  speculations — Le  Sueur's  oopper- 
mine  on  Blue  Earth  River — Louisiana  made  a  government  independent  of 
New  France — Change  in  the  political  system  of  the  colony — unsuccessful 
attempts  of  France  to  colonize — Boundaries  of  Louisiana — Rio  del  Norte — 
Crozat's  Patent — Mississippi  Scheme — Slavery  authorized  in  Crozat's  mono 
poly — Population  of  Louisiana — 111  success  of  Crozat — His  losses;  surrenders 
his  patent — Delusive  hopes  of  wealth,  in  France — Wretched  state  of  the 
French  Public  Treasury — John  Law  proposes  relief— Paper  currency  as  a 
substitute  for  precious  metals — Law's  Bank  established — Its  operations — De 
clared  a  royal  bank — Becomes  a  commercial  company — Great  powers  granted 
to  the  "  Mississippi  Company" — Bank  of  France  associated  with  it — Company 
of  the  Indies — Monopolies  granted  to  it — The  Mint,  and  Taxes  of  the  nation, 
farmed  by  it — Law,  Comptroller  General  of  France — Emigrants  to  Louisiana, 
their  character — Routes  from  the  St.  Lawrence  to  the  Lower  Mississippi — 
The  great  bubbles  burst — Consequences  extend  to  the  settlements  of  the  Mis 
sissippi  Valley — Similarity  of  Credit  System  of  1719  and  1834 — Delusion  aa 
to  the  mineral  wealth  continues — Mining  on  the  Upper  Mississippi — War  be 
tween  France  and  Spain — Chain  of  forts  established  on  the  Mississippi — Site 
of  New  Orleans  selected — Le  Sueur's  fort  on  St.  Peter's  River — He  takes 
possession  of  the  upper  country — Fort  Chartres  built — Population  of  the  111- 
nois  country — Posts  of  Michillimackinac,  Green  Bay,  Chicago,  St.  Joseph's, 
Sault  St.  Marie,  and  Detroit — English  and  French  trade  with  the  Indians — 
Influence  of  France  unbounded,  over  the  Indians,  except  the  Iroquois — The 
Five  Nations — Ottagamies  adhere  to  the  English — Attempt  to  destroy  Detroit 
— Siege  of  Detroit — Defeat  and  great  loss  of  the  Ottagamies — Their  hostili 
ties  and  depredations — French  expedition  against  them  under  Louvigny — • 
Stronghold  at  Butte  des  Morts — The  Foxes  capitulate — Hostages  delivered — 
Treaty  not  complied  with  by  the  Foxes — They  renew  their  depredations — 
Expedition  un-der  De  Lignerie  unsuccessful — Progress  of  settlements  in  the 
West — Villages  in  the  Illinois  country — The  Natchez  nation,  their  destruc 
tion — The  "  Company  of  the  Indies"  surrenders  its  charter — War  against  the 
Chickasaws — Artaguette  and  Vincennes — Their  death — Situation  of  the  Illi 
nois  country — Ambitious  views  of  France  as  to  the  Great  West — Resisted  by 
the  English  colonies — George  Washington — His  mission  to  the  French  com 
mander — First  signal  of  the  war  of  the  Revolution — Death  of  Jumonville — 
Washington  capitulates — France  in  possession  of  the  whole  Valley  of  the 
Mississippi — English  and  French  encroachments,  although  with  the  same  in 
tent,  not  so  regarded  by  the  Indians — Peace  in  Europe,  but  war  in  America — 
Boundaries  between  English  and  French  possessions  the  cause — War  of  1756 
— Braddock's  defeat;  Wolfs  victory;  surrender  of  all  Canada — Disaffection 
of  the  Indians — Rogers  takes  possession  of  Detroit,  and  other  western  posts 
— Pontiac — He  orders  Rogers  to  stop  in  his  march — Protects  him  on  condi 
tion — French  power  in  the  West  for  ever  overthrown — Feelings  against  the 
English — Henry,  the  English  trader — His  interview  with  an  Indian  chief—— 


CONTENTS.  7 

Attachment  of  the  Indians  to  the  French ;  its  causes — State  of  settlements 
in  Wisconsin — Carver's  account — Prairie  du  Chien — No  establishments  west 
of  Green  Bay — Traders  alone  in  the  country — Sacs  and  Foxes,  their  depreda 
tions  and  chastisement — Expeditions  against  them — Lake  Superior,  settlements 

there — Ancient  mines — Indications  of  ancient  work Pag*     52 

NOTES  TO  CHAPTER  II 320 

CHAPTER  III. 

UNDER  BRITISH  DOMINION. 

Treaty  of  1763 — England  possesses  all  New  France  and  Louisiana — Protection 
of  eminent  domain — Carver's  Grant — Illinois  and  Wabash  Companies — Classes 
of  grants  in  the  Territory  of  Michigan,  and  in  Wisconsin — De  Vaudreuil's 
Grant — French  inhabitants  under  English  rule — Indians  unfriendly  to  the 
English — Pontiac's  designs — His  great  confederacy — Calls  a  grand  council, 
and  states  his  plans  to  them — Unexpected  attacks  on  the  British  posts- 
Black  rain  at  Detroit — Surprise  and  capture  of  Michillimackinac — Henry'» 
persona]  account  of  it — Fort  at  Green  Bay  abandoned — Fort  at  St.  Joseph's 
captured — Situation  of  Detroit — Stratagem  of  Pontiac — Discovered  and  pre 
vented — Siege  of  Detroit — Barbarities  of  the  Indians — Reinforcements  arrive 
• — Captain  Dalyell's  sortie,  defeat,  and  death — Siege  abandoned  by  the  In 
dians — Arrival  of  General  Bradstreet — Concludes  a  peace  with  the  Indian 
tribes — Pontiac  does  not  consent — His  death — His  character — Absence  of 
settlements  in  Wisconsin — Captain  Carver's  intentions  and  attempts — His 
travels  and  remarks — No  Europeans  on  the  Upper  Mississippi,  as  settlers,  in 
1766 — Evidence  as  to  Carver's  Grant — The  Illinois  country — Peaceable  set 
tlements  of  the  French — Their  mode  of  life — Their  villages  and  general 
regulations  of  property — Tranquillity  and  happiness — Their  religion — Change* 
under  British  rule — Settlements  decline — Emigration  to  Spanish  Louisiana 
— Population  of  the  Illinois  country — British  occupy  the  forts — Colonel 
Clark's  Expedition — His  plan  adopted  by  Virginia — British  influence  over 
Indians  the  source  of  the  depredations  on  the  frontier  settlements — Claims 
of  Virginia  to  the  Northwest,  by  her  royal  charters — Clark  assembles  his 
force — Descends  the  Ohio — Marches  overland  to  Kaskaskia — Captures  the 
town  and  fort — Fears  of  the  inhabitants — They  apply  to  Clark — His  answer 
• — Their  rejoicings — Cahokia  surrenders — Fort  Sackville,  or  Vincennes,  sub 
mits — Oath  of  allegiance  taken — Clark  establishes  forts — County  of  Illinois 
established  by  Virginia — Indians  make  treaties  with  Clark — The  British 
governor  collects  his  forces — Resolves  to  make  Clark  prisoner — Governor 
Hamilton's  character — He  arrives  before  Vincennes — Captain  Helm  alone  in 
the  fort — Obtains  honorable  terms — Clark  determines  on  retaking  Vincennes 
— Marches  from  Kaskaskia — Hardships  suffered  by  his  forces — Arrive  at  the 
town  and  capture  it — Attack  the  fort— Hamilton  capitulates,  and  is  sent  pri 
soner  to  Virginia — Clark's  views  on  Detroit — Captures  a  convoy  of  supplies 
— The  result  of  Clark's  enterprises — The  five  States  of  the  Northwestern 
Territory — The  Northwest  during  the  Revolutionary  War — Claims  of  States 
proposed  to  be  relinquished — Plans  devised  and  debated  in  Congress — Deeds 
of  cession  by  States — Geographical  boundaries  of  the  new  States  not  defined 
nnderstandingly — Revision  of  deeds  of  cession  proposed — New  boundaries 
of  States — Resolutions  of  Congress  on  this  subject — Ordinance  of  1787 — As- 
Bent  of  Virginia  to  alteration  of  her  deed  of  cession — Review  of  sixth  article 
of  ordinance  of  1787 123 

NOTES  TO  CHAPTER  III 34» 

CHAPTER  IV. 
THE  NORTHWESTERN  TERRITORY. 

British  retain  the  Western  posts — Effect  on  the  Indians — Land  speculation  in 
the  West — Washington's  opinion — Cession  of  title  by  the  States — Retrospec- 


CONTENTS. 

tive  view — Steuben  sent  to  take  possession  of  Western  posts — He  is  refused 
the  possession — Causes  assigned — Boundary  line  not  to  be  crossed — British 
strengthen  the  posts — Great  council  of  Indian  tribes — Treaties  of  Fort  Har- 
mar — Not  adhered  to — Brant  and  the  Northern  confederacy — St.  Clair,  go 
vernor  of  the  Northwestern  Territory — Indians  deny  the  validity  of  his  treaties 
— State  of  the  case — Ordinance  of  1787— Unwise  proceeding  of  government 
— British  policy  and  agency — Encouragement  given  to  Brant — Influence  of 
McKee,  Elliott,  and  Girty — Mission  of  Gamelin  to  the  Western  tribes,  *ind 
his  report — Conduct  of  British  agents — United  States  adopt  war  measures 
against  the  Indians — St.  Clair's  levies,  and  dissensions — Ilarmar's  Expedition, 
and  two  defeats — Discord  in  his  army — Indian  villages  destroyed — Indian 
account  of  the  battles — Action  of  the  government  in  relation  to  the  Indian 
War — Peace  messengers  and  warlike  preparations — British  agents  and  Indians 
dissatisfied — American  policy  explained — Scott's  Expedition — Wilkinson's 
Expedition — St.  Clair  organizes  his  army  at  Fort  Washington — Commences 
his  march — Builds  Forts  Hamilton  and  Jefi'erson — Reaches  the  waters  of  the 
W abash — Army  encamps — Attacked  by  the  Indians  and  entirely  defeated — 
Great  loss  of  the  Americans — Causes  of  defeat — St.  Clair  exculpated — New 
army  authorized  by  Congress  to  be  raised — General  Wayne  appointed  to  its 
command — Peace  still  offered  to  the  Indians — The  chiefs  of  the  nations  are 
invited  to  the  seat  of  government — Commissioners  meet  the  Indians  in  coun 
cil — Indians  insist  on  the  Ohio  boundary — Attempts  at  peace  fruitless — The 
causes — British  erect  a  new  fort  on  the  Maumee — Spain  offers  assistance  to 
Indians — Wayne  assembles  his  forces  at  Fort  Washington — Final  report  of 
the  peace  commissioners — Wayne  moves  his  army — Establishes  Fort  Green 
ville — Goes  into  winter  quarters — Buries  the  bones  on  the  field  of  St.  Clair's 
defeat — Fort  Recovery  built — Attack  by  the  Indians  on  an  escort — Wayne 
learns  the  movements  of  the  Indians  and  the  British  agents — Indians  attack 
Fort  Recovery,  and  are  repulsed — Wayne  marches  from  Greenville— Builds 
Fort  Defiance — Sends  a  peace  messenger  to  the  Indians — The  reply  of  the 
Indians — Wayne  marches  on — Leaves  his  heavy  baggage — Moves  down  the 
Maumee — Battle,  and  complete  victory — Wayne  destroys  Indian  and  British 
property — Effect  of  the  victory  on  the  Indians — The  army  returns — Fort 
Wayne  built — Fort  Loramie  built — Army  in  winter  quarters  at  Greenville — 
Indian  spirit  subdued — The  tribes  disposed  to  peace  measures — Opposition, 
made  by  the  British  agents — Great  council  held — Propositions  made  by  the 
English  governor  of  Detroit — Brant  coincides — Indians  do  not  consent — They 
send  peace  messengers  to  the  Americans — The  preliminaries  of  peace  entered 
into — Great  council  held  at  Greenville,  and  treaty  made — Terms  of  the  treaty 
— Other  events  during  the  Indian  War — Genet,  French  minister ;  his  schemes 
to  involve  the  United  States  in  war — His  attempts  in  the  West;  contemplated 
invasion  of  Louisiana  and  Florida — Separation  of  the  Western  States,  and 
revolt  in  the  Spanish  provinces,  projected — Genet  issues  commissions — Ex- 
cit.eine'nt  among  the  Western  people — Action  of  the  United  States  govern- 
ment-^-Genot  recalled  by  France,  who  disowns  his  acts — Free  navigation  of 
the  Mississippi  insisted  on  by  the  United  States;  denied  by  Spain — Governor 
Miro  relaxes  the  stringent  measures  in  relation  to  duties — He  grants  special 
privileges  of  trade  on  the  Mississippi — Attempts  of  Spain  to  dismember  the 
Union — Operations  in  relation  to  the  navigation  of  the  Mississippi — Unsuc 
cessful  attempts  of  government  to  treat  with  Spain — Baron  Carondelet's  po 
licy  and  attempts  to  separate  the  West — Treaty  of  Madrid — Free  navigation, 
of  Mississippi  secured — New  Orleans  a  free  port  of  deposit — Yazoo  specu 
lation — Projected  British  invasion  of  the  Spanish  provinces,  by  way  of  the 
lakes  and  the  Illinois — Spanish  posts  withheld  from  the  Americans — The 
causes — Spanish  perfidy  and  duplicity — Powers  proceeds  to  Detroit,  the  head 
quarters  of  Wilkinson — Conduct  of  Wilkinson — New  Orleans  ceases  to  be  a 
port  of  deposit,  unless  duties  are  paid — The  act  of  the  Intendant  reversed  by 
the  King  of  Spain — Jefferson  sends  ministers  to  France  and  Spain — Spain 
cedes  Louisiana  to  France — Diplomacy  of  the  American  ministers  relative 
to  the  purchase  of  Louisiana — All  Louisiana  purchased  from  France — Spain 
objects,  but  renounces  opposition — Effectual  agency  of  Mr.  Livingston — 


CONTENTS.  9 

Spanish  ami  French  claims  to  land — British  evacuate  the  Western  posts- 
Northwestern  Territory — Ohio  set  off — Indiana  created — Extent  of  the  United 

States'  possessions  in  the  Northwest Page  174 

NOTES  TO  CHAPTER  IV 389 

CHAPTER  V. 
INDIAN  DISTURBANCES. 

Principle  which  governs  European  title  in  America — Pughts  of  original  inha 
bitants — Rights  of  discoverers — Ultimate  dominion  over  the  Soil — Political 
condition  of  the  Indians — Review  of  the  character  of  Indian  treaties — General 
Harrison  appointed  governor  of  Northwestern  Territory — His  first  acts  in  trea 
ties  with  the  Indians — The  Black  Sparrow-hawk — His  rank  and  place  of  resi 
dence — Treaty  of  St.  Louis  of  1804 — Vast  territory  ceded — Afterward  con 
firmed — Fort  Madison  built — Jealousy  among  the  Sacs,  Black  Hawk's  band 
• — Attempts  to  surprise  Fort  Madison — Territory  of  Michigan  erected — Go 
vernor  Hull — Fire  at  Detroit — New  town  laid  out — Lieutenant  Pike  ascends 
the  Mississippi — Obtains  cessions  of  lands  from  the  Indians — Prospect  of  In 
dian  disturbances — Tecumthe  and  the  Prophet — Black  Hawk — Indian  talk 
of  Le  Marquois — Enterprise  and  efforts  of  Tecumthe  and  his  brother — They 
attempt  to  deceive  Governor  Harrison — The  governor  prepares  for  emergen 
cies — Indian  hostility  apparent — Black  Hawk  urged  to  join  the  confederacy 
— War  parties  sent  out — Result  of  their  acts — General  outbreak  expected — 
Tecuintho  assembles  a  hostile  force — Harrison  convenes  a  council  of  Indians 
— Violent  conduct  of  Tecumthe — Governor  Harrison  assembles  an  army — 
Marches  to  the  Prophet's  town — Indians  temporize  with  Harrison — He  en 
camps,  and  is  attacked  in  the  night — Battle  of  Tippecanoe — All  the  Western, 
posts  and  settlements  threatened — War  of  1812 — Conduct  of  the  English  tra 
ders — Robert  Dickson,  his  great  influence — Predatory  warfare  of  the  Indians 
— Dickson  collects  the  Indians  at  Green  Bay — Gives  Black  Hawk  the  com 
mand,  and  sends  him  to  Detroit — Black  Hawk  remains  a  short  time  with  the 
army,  and  returns  to  the  Mississippi — News  of  the  declaration  of  war  does 
not  arrive  quickly  in  the  West — Disastrous  consequences — Mackinaw  surren- 
dfrs — Surrender  of  Detroit — Fate  of  the  garrison  at  Chicago — Massacre  of 
Captain  Heald's  forces — Alleged  cause  of  Indian  vengeance — Events  of  the 
•war  on  the  Mississippi — Fort  at  Prairie  du  Chien  repaired — Captured  by  the 
British  under  McKay — The  prisoners  sent  down  the  Mississippi — Indian  rage 
— Major  Campbell  ascends  the  river  from  St.  Louis — Is  attacked  by  Black 
Hawk;  is  wounded  and  retreats  with  his  boats — British  send  cannon  and  sol 
diers  to  Rock  Island — Major  Zachary  Taylor  ascends  the  river  with  a  force 
— Great  body  of  Indians  at  Rock  Island — They  attack  Taylor,  and  after  a 
severe  fight  he  returns  down  the  river — Forts  Madison  and  Johnson  burned 
— Peace  with  Great  Britain  and  consequent  peace  with  Indians  by  treaties 
— Fort  Armstrong  built  at  Rock  Island — Settlements  commence  there — Keo- 
kuk  and  his  band  remove — Black  Hawk  remains — Illinois  about  to  be  admitted 
&s  a  State — Boundary  question — Increase  of  white  settlements,  and  outrages 
committed — Lead  trade  with  the  Indians — Wisconsin  a  part  of  Michigan 
Territory — Settlements  at  Green  Bay — Indian  Jealousy — Winnebagoes  attack 
a  party  of  Chippewas — Conduct  of  American  commander  at  Fort  Snelling — 
Red  Bird's  resentment — Murders  near  Prairie  du  Chien — Red  Bird's  people 
attack  two  boats  on  the  river — Great  excitement  in  the  mining  regions — 
General  Atkinson  ascends  the  river  with  his  force — Red  Bird  and  other  In 
dians  surrender  themselves  prisoners — General  outbreak  expected — Prompt 
action  of  Atkinson  and  the  volunteers  defeats  it — Indians  tried  at  Prairie  du 
Chien — Convicted,  and  pardoned — Red  Bird  dies  in  prison. — Other  prisoners 
discharged — Country  begins  to  settle — New  disturbances  on  Rock  River — 
Black  Hawk  returns  to  his  village  and  threatens  the  whites — Governor  Rey 
nolds  declares  the  State  invaded — Applies  for  assistance  to  General  Govern 
ment — Raises  volunteer  force — General  Gaines  with  United  States  troops 


10  CONTENTS. 

proceeds  up  the  river — Confers  with  the  Indians — Is  joined  by  the  Illinois 
volunteers — They  take  possession  of  the  Sac  village,  and  Indians  cross  the 

river — The  village  destroyed — Treaty  at  Rock  Island — Reflections Page  221 

NOTES  TO  CHAPTER  V 408 

CHAPTER  VI. 
BLACK  HAWK  IN  WISCONSIN. 

The  treaty  of  St.  Louis— Settlers  in  Black  Hawk's  village— Obstinacy  of  Black 
Hawk — He  again  crosses  the  Mississippi — Governor  Reynolds  demands  aid! 
• — General  Atkinson  ascends  the  river — Black  Hawk  refuses  to  go  back — The 
army  follows  him — Volunteers  at  Dixon's  Ferry — Major  Stillman's  attack, 
and  flight  of  his  men — First  blood  shed  in  the  war — Governor  Reynolds  de 
mands  more  aid — Sioux  and  Menomonies  offer  their  services — Talk  with  the 
Winnebagoes — Alarm  in  the  mining  district — Colonel  Dodge  writes  to  Go 
vernor  Reynolds — Authority  of  Colonel  Dodge — Assembles  volunteers — • 
Marches  to  Rock  Biver — Returns  home  and  prepares  for  defence — Massacre 
at  Indian  Creek  and  capture  of  Misses  Hall — St.  Vrain,  Hawley,  and  others 
killed — Affair  at  Buffalo  Grove — Major  Dement's  battle — Attack  at  Apple 
River — Affair  at  Sinsinawa  Mound — Dodge  talks  with  the  Winnebagoes — 
Forts  and  block-houses  in  Iowa  county — The  Misses  Hall  delivered  up — 
Winnebagoes  suspected — Aubrey  killed  at  Mound  Fort — Dodge's  volunteers 
inarch — He  addresses  them — They  bury  St.  Vrain,  Hawley,  and  others — • 
Reach  the  camp  at  Dixon — Proceed  to  General  Atkinson's  camp — Dodge 
receives  his  orders  and  returns — Murders  at  Spafford's  farm — Dodge  assem 
bles  a  force— Proceeds  to  Fort  Hamilton— Apple  killed— Battle  of  the  Peca- 
tonica — Chippewas  and  Sioux  come  to  Fort  Hamilton  and  return — Force  and! 
Green  killed  at  Mound  Fort — Dodge  joins  General  Posey's  command — Dispo 
sition  of  the  forces — March  of  a  portion  of  the  army — General  Atkinson  at 
Koshkonong — The  White  Crow  offers  to  pilot  the  forces  to  Black  Hawk's  camp 
— His  supposed  treachery — General  Atkinson  sends  to  Fort  Winnebago  for 
provisions — General  Henry  and  Colonel  Dodge  march  in  search  of  Black 
Hawk — They  reach  Rock  River  Rapids — Discover  the  Indian  trail,  which  is 
followed — Overtake  Black  Hawk— Battle  of  the  Wisconsin  Heights — General 
Atkinson  breaks  up  his  camp  and  marches  in  pursuit  of  Black  Hawk — They 
cross  the  Wisconsin  River  and  follow  the  Indian  trail— Battle  of  Bad  Axe — 
Winnebago  chiefs  bring  Black  Hawk  in  as  a  prisoner — General  Scott's  rapid 
movements  with  his  forces — They  are  attacked  with  cholera — Loss  of  the 
Americans  in  this  war — Subsequent  notices  of  Black  Hawk,  and  reflections 
— The  volunteers  of  Wisconsin — Increase  of  population  in  the  mining  coun 
try — Important  Indian  treaties — Land  speculations — Military  road  opened — 
Mail  route  up  the  Mississippi — Early  private  enterprise — Hamilton — Fartls- 
worth — Transportution  of  troops — Early  hi3tory  of  Prairie  du  Chien — Causes 
operating  against  the  early  settlement  of  the  country — Michigan  about  to 
become  a  State — New  Territory  to  be  formed  in  the  West — Jealousy  as  to  the 
seat  of  government — Legislative  proceedings — Final  action  of  Congress  esta 
blishing  the  Territory  of  Wisconsin 257 

NOTES  TO  CHAPTER  VI ,  ..  41& 


INTRODUCTORY. 


THE  object  of  the  present  work  is  sufficiently  apparent 
from  its  title ;  the  cause  and  manner  of  its  having  been 
undertaken  by  the  compiler  may  deserve  explanation. 
In  January,  1849,  the  "State  Historical  Society  of  "Wiscon 
sin'*  was  formed,  through  the  efforts  of  a  few  citizens, 
whose  sanguine  anticipations  of  immediate  successful 
results  were  unfortunately  disappointed.  Beyond  two 
annual  addresses,  the  first  by  the  compiler,  the  second  by 
the  Honourable  MORGAN  L.  MARTIN,  both  by  appointments 
of  the  Society,  no  practical  labours  in  the  region  of  Wis 
consin  history  were  laid  before  its  annual  meetings ;  in 
deed,  the  Society  appeared  to  languish,  and  all  attempts  to 
restore  energy  to  it,  or  to  render  it  of  utility  to  the  State, 
in  conformity  with  its  original  design,  appeared  fruitless. 

By  the  constitution  of  the  Society,  the  governor  of  the- 
State  was  ex-officio  its  president.  Soon  after  the  inaugu- 
tion  of  Governor  FARWELL,  in  1852,  the  compiler  was  much 
gratified  to  find,  from  conversations  with  his  excellency, 
how  deep  an  interest  he  felt  in  all  which,  in  any  degree, 
related  to  the  development  of  the  actual  condition  and 
resources  of  the  State  of  Wisconsin.  The  governor  ex 
pressed  to  the  compiler  his  regrets  that  the  objects  of  the 

11 


12  INTRODUCTORY. 

State  Historical  Society  were  less  regarded,  or  at  least  less 
attended  to,  than  they  merited  to  be ;  and  suggested  to 
him  the  idea  that  it  might  not  be  a  difficult  matter,  with 
industry  properly  directed,  to  obtain  from  the  prominent 
residents  of  each  county  in  the  State,  such  annals  and 
statistics  as,  when  digested  and  compiled  in  a  correct 
form,  would  make  a  valuable  local  history.  He  also 
spoke  of  the  propriety  of  collecting,  at  an  early  day,  every 
matter  of  historical  interest  depending  on  the  memory  of 
individuals,  or  on  perishable  records,  so  that  a  foundation 
might  be  laid  for  a  State  history  on  which  a  reliance 
might  be  placed  for  its  authenticity.  On  these  matters  he 
requested  the  compiler  to  reflect,  and  give  him  the  result 
of  his  thoughts  in  such  shape  as  that  it  might  be  advan 
tageously  used,  if  considered  of  sufficient  importance. 
Accordingly,  in  a  few  days  afterward,  the  following  letter 
was  addressed  to  the  governor. 

Madison,  February  2d,  1852. 
To  LEONARD  J.  FARWELL,  GOVERNOR  OF  THE  STATE  OF  WISCONSIN. 

SIR — Within  a  period  of  time  not  longer  than  that 
which  embraces  the  political  existence  of  Wisconsin,  the 
attention  of  many  of  the  States  of  the  Union  has  been 
directed  to  the  collection  and  preservation  of  all  matters 
shedding  light  upon,  or  in  any  manner  properly  belonging 
to  their  own  history — colonial,  revolutionary,  and  federate. 
The  importance  of  their  action  on  such  subjects  will  not 
be  denied,  and  the  example  is  worthy  to  be  followed  in 
Wisconsin. 

It  is  due  to  ourselves — to  the  enlightened  age  in  whicL 


INTRODUCTORY.  13 

we  live, — it  is  more  especially  due  to  posterity,  that  we 
should  gather  and  preserve  every  evidence  within  our 
reach,  of  such  events  and  transactions,  public  and  indi 
vidual,  as  may  properly  be  considered  as  forming  our  his 
tory,  social  and  political.  Much  of  such  evidence  is  now 
in  our  power,  but  time  cannot  replace  or  restore  that 
which  his  own  hand  is  hourly  removing  and  destroying. 

To  collect  and  arrange  the  documentary  history  of  Wis 
consin,  from  its  earliest  settlement  to  the  present  time, 
will  require  much  labour  and  research,  and,  consequently, 
considerable  expense,  independent  of  the  value  of  the  time 
employed  in  the  work ; — expenditure  in  the  collection  of 
records,  books,  and  papers,  and  in  travelling  for  the  de 
sired  purpose,  will  form  a  considerable  portion  of  the  ac 
count.  The  undivided  time  and  attention  of  the  collator 
must  be  occupied,  and  a  year  or  more  may  elapse  before 
his  labours  could,  in  any  likelihood,  be  completed. 

I  have  addressed  you,  sir,  as  the  executive  of  the  State, 
to  whom  properly  belongs  the  superintendence  of  the 
general  welfare  of  the  community.  I  am  desirous  of  com 
piling  such  matters  as  will  serve  as  a  Documentary  History 
of  "Wisconsin ;  comprising,  not  only  public  records,  but 
also  narratives  of  private  enterprise,  the  history  of  the  set 
tlement  of  counties,  and  their  past  and  present  statistics. 
In  the  prosecution  of  this  design  I  would  require  legisla 
tive  encouragement ;  and  should  my  proposed  action  meet 
with  your  approval,  I  would  respectfully  ask  you  to  com 
municate  my  design  and  wishes  to  the  legislature. 
I  have  the  honour  to  be  your  obedient  servant, 

WM.  K.  SMITH. 


14  INTRODUCTORY. 

The  journal  of  the  Senate,  of  February  5th,  1852,  ex 
hibits  the  following  proceedings,  which  conclusively  show 
the  deep  interest  which  Governor  Farwell  felt  in  the 
accomplishment  of  the  projected  undertaking. 

! 

"  The  following  communication  from  his  excellency  the 
governor,  and  accompanying  communication  from  Gene 
ral  "William  R.  Smith,  was  read,  and,  on  motion  of  Mr. 
Stewart,  it  was  referred  to  the  Committee  on  State  Affairs.'* 

Executive  Department,  Madison  Feb.  4th,  1852. 
To  THE  SENATE  AND  ASSEMBLY. 

I  have  the  honour  herewith  to  present  a  communication 
from  General  William  E.  Smith,  on  the  subject  of  "col 
lecting  and  arranging  the  documentary  histoiy  of  Wiscon 
sin." 

I  most  fully  concur  in  the  views  and  suggestions  of 
General  Smith  upon  this  subject,  and  take  pleasure  in 
most  earnestly  commending  them  to  your  consideration. 

Such  a  documentary  history  of  Wisconsin  would  most 
obviously  be  a  work  of  immense  value  to  the  people  of 
our  times,  and  of  still  greater  value  to  posterity.  We 
cannot,  in  my  opinion,  too  soon  rescue  and  save  the 
elements  of  early  history,  which  year  by  year  are  con 
stantly  perishing  from  the  records  and  memories  of  the 
past. 

Many  valuable  manuscripts  and  facts,  and  much  im 
portant  information  now  in  the  possession  of  the  living 
pioneers  of  our  State,  can  only  in  this  way  be  saved; 
which,  after  a  few  more  years,  can  never  be  reclaimed. 


INTRODUCTORY.  15 

The  older  States  are  now  expending  vast  sums  of  money 
every  year,  to  search  out  and  explore  the  relics  of  their 
early  history,  which  they  might  have  preserved  with  but 
little  trouble  and  expense  by  giving  attention  to  the  sub 
ject  at  an  earlier  day.  I  therefore  recommend  that  pro 
vision  be  made  by  the  legislature  for  this  object ;  and  that 
General  "William  R.  Smith  be  authorized  and  employed, 
under  such  liberal  and  adequate  compensation  as  may  be 
fixed  by  law,  to  prepare  and  furnish  the  State  such  a  his 
tory  as  is  prefigured  in  his  communication. 

His  long  residence  in  Wisconsin,  his  historical  and  per 
sonal  knowledge  of  the  country,  added  to  great  learning 
and  experience,  designate  him  as  the  proper  person  to  per 
form  this  work. 

LEONARD  J.  FARWELL. 

The  Senate  journal  further  shows,  that  on  the  9th  of 
February,  1852,  the  committee  on  the  subject  of  these 
communications  reported  as  follows  : 

The  Committee  on  State  Affairs,  to  whom  was  referred 
the  message  of  the  governor,  enclosing  the  communication 
of  William  R.  Smith  in  relation  to  the  compilation  of  the 
documentary  history  of  Wisconsin,  'report — 

That,  in  the  estimation  of  the  committee,  it  is  important 
to  the  welfare  of  all  political  communities  that  all  records 
and  statistics,  and  every  fact  relative  to  their  true  history, 
should  be  carefully  gathered,  from  time  to  time,  and  faith 
fully  preserved.  When  such  collections  of  public  docu 
ments  are  correctly  made,  a  duty  which  we  owe  to  our 
selves  is  well  performed ;  the  history  of  the  past  and  the 


16  INTRODUCTORY. 

present  is  placed  before  us,  for  our  instruction,  whenever  a 
reference  thereto  becomes  necessary;  and  we  thereby  dis 
charge  a  debt  which  one  generation  owes  to  another. 

The  example  of  our  sister  States  in  collecting  and 
arranging  all  matters  appertaining  to  their  early  history  r 
should  not  be  lost  in  Wisconsin. 

Much  difficulty  is  found  at  this  day  in  gathering  up 
fragments  which  time  has  scattered ;  and  Wisconsin  may 
readily  avoid  such  difficulty  by  writing  her  own  history  in 
the  freshness  and  vigour  of  her  youth,  and  yearly  preserve 
her  annals  with  the  stamp  of  truth,  for  the  use  of  pos 
terity. 

We  therefore  approve  of  the  suggestions  contained  in 
the  communication  of  the  governor,  and  report  the  follow 
ing  bill,  recommending  its  passage.  All  of  which  is. 
respectfully  submitted. 

ELIAB  B.  DEAN,  JR. 
HARVEY  G.  TURNER, 
JOEL  C.  SQUIRES, 

Committee  on  State  Affairs. 

The  bill  which  accompanied  this  report  provided  in  a 
generous  manner  for  defraying  the  expenses  of  compiling 
the  Documentary  History  of  the  State ;  subsequent  legis 
latures,  in  the  same  generous  spirit,  aided  the  advance 
ment  and  progress  of  the  work,  by  similar  appropriations; 
and,  finally,  in  1854,  authorized  the  publication  of  so  much 
of  the  history  as  is  now  ready  for  the  press,  at  the  expense 
of  the  State  of  Wisconsin. 

Such  has  been  the  liberal  action  of  the  legislature.    The 


INTRODUCTORY.  If 

compiler,  in  the  performance  of  his  task  voluntarily  as 
sumed,  and  in  discharge  of  the  duties  which  devolved 
upon  him,  has  endeavoured  to  meet  a  portion,  at  least,  of 
the  public  expectations.  Claiming  for  himself  the  credit 
of  a  zeal  which  he  felt,  and  an  industry  which  he  strove  to 
exercise,  he  seeks  not  the  name  of  historian,  but  will  rest 
satisfied  if  that  of  faithful  compiler  may  justly  he  awarded 
to  him.  Yet  this  remark  must  he  deemed  more  imme 
diately  applicable  to  the  history  of  events  antecedent  to  the 
formation  of  a  Territorial  government  in  Wisconsin.  For 
such  history,  and  very  often  for  the  language  in  which  the 
events  have  been  transmitted  to  us,  in  various  valuable 
publications,  the  compiler  has  acknowledged  his  indebted 
ness  in  the  notes  to  his  many  quotations ;  and  if  in  any 
portion  of  the  work  such  acknowledgment  has  been 
omitted,  it  is  here.,  in  all  candour,  made.  But  for  that 
portion  of  the  history  relating  to  the  period  between  the 
organization  of  the  Territory  in  1836  and  the  present  time, 
the  compiler  is  more  immediately  responsible,  as  the 
events  have  transpired  within  his  own  personal  recollec 
tions. 

The  compiler  is  aware  that,  in  the  perusal  of  almost 
every  page  of  the  early  history,  observations  will  present 
themselves  to  the  reader,  which  very  naturally  will  suggest 
the  question,  "  Why  is  so  much  matter  devoted  to  the  his 
tory  of  portions  of  country  in  some  degree  remote  from 
the  immediate  Territory  of  Wisconsin  ?"  It  is  presumed 
that  a  sufficient  answer  may  be  given  in  this : — The  history 
of  Wisconsin  in  early  times  is  essentially  embodied  in  the 
early  history  of  the  Valley  of  the  Mississippi :  the  country 

VOL.  I.— 2 


18  INTRODUCTORY. 

was  not  integral,  but  a  small  portion  of  the  great  North 
west  ;  and,  as  such,  the  events  occurring  in,  and  spreading 
over,  and  influentially  operating  upon  the  whole,  became 
consequently  important  data  in  its  own  history.  If  it  be- 
desirable  to  obtain  a  history  and  description  of  a  single 
chamber  in  a  vast  structure,  such  desire  may  best  be  grati 
fied  by  obtaining  a  history  and  description  of  the  building, 
itself. 

Without  such  an  allowance  of  latitude  to  the  compiler 
of  history,  he  would  necessarily  become  a  mere  annalist ; 
his  events  deprived  of  all  but  local  interest ;  the  remote 
causes  of  such  events,  and  their  extraneous  effects,  would 
alike  remain  hidden  to  the  reader,  whose  attention  would 
thus  be  unprofitably  limited  and  confined.  An  early  his 
tory  of  Wisconsin,  restricted  to  the  present  boundaries  of 
the  State,  would  possess  no  other  interest  than  that  de 
rived  from  an  account  of  the  advent  of  the  Jesuit  fathers,, 
their  religious  establishments,  their  sufferings  and  en 
durance,  their  labours  and  success.  Such  a  narration 
might  soon  be  written,  and  in  narrow  compass  ;  but  would 
the  contemplated  design  of  obtaining  what  might  properly 
be  termed  "the  History  of  Early  Times  in  "Wisconsin"  be 
thereby  accomplished  ?  We  have  thought  it  would  notr 
and  have  pursued  a  course,  in  our  compilation,  which  we 
trust  will  be  at  least  tolerated,  if  not  commended.  The 
history  of  the  Territoiy,  and  of  the  State  of  Wisconsin,, 
integral  and  set  apart  from  the  surrounding  region,  will 
of  course  be  restricted  to  those  objects  alone  which  will 
come  within  its  legitimate  scope  and  design.  But  it  has> 
been  considered  that  every  prominent  event  in  the  history 


INTRODUCTORY.  19 

of  the  settlement  of  the  Valley  of  the  Mississippi  had  some 
bearing  on  the  proper  history  of  Wisconsin,  immediate  or 
remote,  and  with  such  view  the  subject  has  been  treated. 

"With  regard  to  the  documentary  history,  a  very  wide 
field  appears  open.  All  that  relates  to  the  civil  and  po 
litical  history  of  the  Territory  and  State  ;  all  public  papers 
and  public  action  having  reference  to  any  matter  in  which 
the  improvement,  progress,  and  prosperity  of  the  State  is 
concerned ;  private  narratives  of  great  public  events,  such 
as  Indian  disturbances,  and  their  consequences ;  interest 
ing  narratives  of  early  adventure  in  the  settlement  of  the 
State ;  all  matters  tending  in  any  degree  to  establish  a 
foundation  for  a  correct  statistical  history  of  the  whole 
country ;  in  fine,  all  matters  which  may  be  considered  as 
affecting  the  general  interests,  and  not  in  their  nature 
restricted  to  private  interests,  may  find  a  proper  place  in 
this  field  of  inquiry. «  Old  States  are  now  searching,  with 
indefatigable  care  and  at  very  great  public  expense,  into 
the  records  and  traditions  of  the  past,  for  every  matter 
which  has  a  bearing  on  their  early  history;  and  this  is 
done  at  this  day,  with  an  acknowledgment  of  deep  regret 
that  the  preservation  of  such  matters,  in  the  shape  of  a 
Documentary  History,  had  not  received  their  attention  at 
an  earlier  period.  If  it  be  not  a  source  of  gratulation 
that  Wisconsin,  in  her  infancy,  has  the  advantage  in  her 
power  of  collecting  and  preserving  such  matters  belonging 
to  her  early  history,  she  may  at  least  be  commended  for 
endeavouring  to  prevent  future  regrets  that  her  materials 
for  such  history  were  suffered  to  perish,  one  by  one,  for 
want  of  compilation  in  time. 


20  INTRODUCTORY. 

In  the  descriptive  portion  of  the  work  the  plan  is  appa 
rent,  and  needs  only  an  outline  explanation.  The  bounda 
ries  of  each  county  are  defined  and  described.  The  soil 
and  productions,  trade  and  manufactures,  of  the  county 
are  generally  set  forth.  The  division  of  the  county  into 
towns  is  noted,  and  each  town  is  then  separately  described. 
In  the  description  of  each  township  in  each  county,  will 
be  embraced  the  history  of  its  first  settlement,  its  soil  and 
productions,  its  streams  and  water-powers,  its  woods  and 
prairies,  its  improvements  in  machinery  and  manufactures, 
its  plank-roads  and  rail-roads,  its  local  advantages,  and  its 
farming  interests — improved  and  unimproved ;  its  villages, 
churches,  school-houses,  and  other  public  buildings,  its 
population  and  general  statistics,  and,  in  fine,  the  compiler 
has  endeavoured  to  give  a  truthful  picture  of  Wisconsin 
as  she  now  is,  and  to  lead  discerning  minds  to  reflect  on 
the  means  of  rendering  her  more  beautiful  still. 

Personal  visits  to  every  county  in  the  State  (with  the 
few  exceptions  of  new  counties  lately  taken  from  the 
larger  counties  in  the  north)  has  enabled  the  compiler  to 
present  his  views  and  descriptions  generally  from  actual 
observation.  His  indebtedness  to  gentlemen  of  intelli 
gence  and  accuracy  of  information,  in  every  part  of  the 
State,  for  the  highly  valuable  facts  imparted  to  him,  and 
the  facilities  afforded  him  of  personal  examinations  into 
interesting  matters,  is  most  gratefully  acknowledged.  To 
name  the  individuals  in  each  county  which  the  compiler 
visited,  who  afforded  him  such  facilities,  and  gave  him 
such  valuable  information,  would  certainly  swell  an  im 
mense  list,  but  could  not  either  increase  his  gratitude,  or 


INTRODUCTORY.  21 

add  to  the  satisfaction  which  lie  is  confident  they  feel  in 
having  conferred  upon  him  benefits  so  essential  to  tho 
completion  of  his  labours. 

Such  has  been  the  design  of  the  compiler  of  this  work ; 
and  if,  in  his  earnest  endeavours  to  accomplish  the  task 
confided  to  him,  and  perhaps  rashly  assumed,  he  has  ma 
terially  failed,  or  embodied  incorrect  views  in  any,  even 
the  least  important,  of  the  many  subjects  of  such  a  compi 
lation,  his  sincere  regrets  for  such  act  may  (in  the  charita 
ble  spirit  of  forbearance  to  censure  mistaken  judgment) 
be  allowed  to  be  at  least  equal  to  those  of  his  readers. 


HISTORY  OF  WISCONSIN. 


CHAPTER     I. 

NEW   FRANCE   AND    LOUISIANA. 

I2arly  History — Mississippi  Valley — Discovery  of  Florida — Ponce  de  Leon, 
Miruelo,  Narvaez,  De  Soto — Discovery  of  the  Mississippi,  and  fate  of 
De  Soto — Charter  Grant  of  New  France — Jesuit  Missionaries,  zeal  and 
success — Reach  the  Western  Lakes — Enterprising  views  of  Discovery — 
Mesnard,  Allouez,  Marquette — Views  of  the  Intendant  Talon — Great 
Congress  of  Indian  Nations  at  the  Falls  of  St.  Mary — Enterprise  of 
Marquette  and  Joliet — Dangers  pointed  out  by  the  Indians — Fox  River, 
Portage,  and  Wisconsin — Upper  Mississippi  discovered — The  Illini  In 
dians  hospitable — The  Missouri  passed,  the  Ouabache  reached,  and 
the  Mississippi  descended  to  below  the  Arkansas — Return  of  Marquette 
and  Joliet  to  Green  Bay — Joliet's  papers  lost — Death  of  Marquette — 
De  la  Salle,  his  enterprise,  protected  and  encouraged  by  Colbert  and. 
Seignelay — Builds  a  vessel  on  Niagara  River,  and  navigates  the  Upper 
Lakes — He  reaches  the  sources  of  the  Illinois  River — Descends  and 
"builds  a  Fort — Learns  the  course  of  the  Mississippi  River,  loses  his 
vessel  on  the  Lakes,  and  resolves  to  build  a  new  one — Despatches  Hen- 
nepin  on  a  voyage  of  discovery  up  the  Mississippi — Leaves  Tonti  in 
command,  and  returns  on  foot  to  Fort  Frontenac — Tonti  builds  Rock 
Fort — Is  driven  away  by  the  Indians — La  Salle  returns,  descends  the 
Mississippi  to  the  sea,  and  takes  possession  of  the  country,  by  the  name 
of  Louisiana — Returns  to  France,  procures  a  fleet,  and  endeavours 
to  discover  the  mouth  of  the  Mississippi  by  sea — Passes  the  mouth,  and 
lands  in  St.  Bernard's  Bay — His  misfortunes,  fruitless  searches,  and 
assassination — Joutel  and  Anastasius  return  by  the  Mississippi  to  Fort 
Crevecoeur,  and  thence  to  Quebec — Attempts  to  decry  the  merits  of  La 
Salle's  discoveries — Hennepin's  alleged  discoveries — His  two  publica 
tions,  and  interpolations — The  claims  of  England  to  the  Mississippi 
founded  on  Hennepin's  books — The  claims  of  France — Conflicting 

•opinions   of  French    and  English    Colonists— New   France    neglected — 

23 


24  HISTORY  OF  WISCONSIN. 

French  possessions  in  the  West  include  the  whole  Valley  of  the  Mis 
sissippi — Iberville  and  his  brothers — Expedition  fitted  out  to  discover 
the  mouth  of  the  Mississippi — Iberville  successful — Passes  up  the 
River — Finds  a  letter  from  Tonti  to  La  Salle — Builds  a  Fort  at  Biloxi, 
and  returns  to  France — Possession  taken  of  the  whole  basin  of  the 
Mississippi,  by  France,  under  the  name  of  Louisiana 

THE  early  history  of  that  portion  of  the  great  North-west 
now  known  as  the  State  of  Wisconsin,  is  necessarily  con 
nected  with  that  of  the  whole  valley  of  the  Mississippi ;  and 
in  taking  a  condensed  retrospective  view  of  the  early  explo 
rations  of  the  country  bordering  on  its  waters,  it  cannot  be 
considered  as  altogether  foreign  to  our  immediate  subject. 
Although  more  than  a  century  had  elapsed  from  the  advent 
of  the  first  European  to  the  banks  of  the  great  River  of  the 
West,  previous  to  any  important  exploration  of  its  course, 
yet  that  event  must  be  considered  as  the  inception  of  its  his 
tory.  The  first  adventurers  came,  seeking  conquest  and  gold  ; 
they  found  poverty,  endured  sufferings,  and  met  with  death. 
Religious  zeal  and  persevering  self-denial  on  the  part  of  the 
early  Jesuit  missionaries  accomplished  more  with  the  Red 
man  than  the  sword,  and  laid  the  foundation  of  that  asto 
nishing  prosperity  of  settlement  and  cultivation  by  civilized 
man,  which  at  this  day  pervades  the  entire  valley  of  the  Mis 
sissippi.  Wisconsin,  as  a  portion  of  that  valley,  is  so  far  con 
nected  with  the  early  discovery  and  settlement  of  any  part 
of  it,  that  the  story  of  the  fortunes  of  adventurers,  and  the 
ultimate  reduction  of  the  whole  of  the  Great  West  to  the 
peaceable  possession  and  occupancy  of  the  United  States, 
necessarily  becomes  a  part  of  her  own  history,  and  cannot 
justly  be  omitted  in  the  records  of  her  own  proper  annals. 

The  southern  coast  of  the  North  American  continent,  near 
St.  Augustine  in  Florida,  was  discovered  on  Easter  Sunday, 
in  the  year  1512,  by  Juan  Ponce  de  Leon.  In  honour  of  the 
day,  as  well  as  on  account  of  the  flowers  of  the  ground,  and 
the  blossoms  of  the  trees,  he  named  the  new-found  country 
Pascua  Florida.  Ponce  de  Leon  had  been  one  of  the  adven 
turous  companions  of  Columbus,  and,  in  the  spirit  of  the 


NEW  FRANCE   AND   LOUISIANA.  25 

time,  he  was  filled  with  the  hope  of  finding  in  his  new  disco 
very,  not  only  mines  of  gold,  but  even  waters  imbued  with 
the  powers  of  renovating  life.  The  only  advantage  he  de 
rived  from  his  discovery  was  the  appointment  of  governor 
of  the  region  ;  and  on  his  return  thither  in  1521  to  colo 
nize  the  country,  he  was  killed  in  combat  with  the  Indians.1 

In  the  mean  while,  a  Spanish  sea-captain,  Diego  Miruelo, 
sailing  from  Havana  in  1516,  had  landed  in  Florida,  at  some 
point  which  he  has  not  distinctly  described,  and  having  taken 
home  with  him  a  considerable  store  of  gold,  the  cupidity  of 
the  daring  and  avaricious  among  the  listeners  to  his  story  was 
effectually  aroused.  However,  ten  years  elapsed  before  Pam- 
philo  de  Narvaez,  in  1526,  obtained  permission  from  Spain  to 
prosecute  discoveries  and  make  further  conquest  of  Florida. 
The  Spaniards  of  early  times  designated  by  this  name  all  of 
North  America  extending  from  the  Gulf  of  Mexico  to  the 
Great  Lakes ;  they  certainly  claimed,  under  the  name  of  Flo 
rida,  the  whole  sea-coast  as  far  as  Newfoundland,  and  even 
to  the  remotest  north ;  in  Spanish  geography,  Canada  was  a 
part  of  Florida.2 

In  1528,  Narvaez  landed  in  Florida,  probably  near  Appa- 
lachee  Bay,  with  three  hundred  men.  The  success  of  Cortes 
in  Mexico  acted  as  a  powerful  stimulant  on  all  contemporary 
adventurers  ;  and  the  deluding  accounts  given  by  the  Indians 
of  the  gold  regions,  led  them  to  believe  that  Florida  was 
equally  wealthy  in  the  precious  metals  with  Mexico  or  Peru. 
Narvaez  and  his  companions,  (of  whom  eighty  were  mounted,) 
in  the  fruitless  but  alluring  search  for  the  object  of  their 
warmest  hopes,  wandered  over  the  lands  lying  north  of  the 
Gulf,  until  disappointment  and  suffering  compelled  them,  after 
six  months'  endurance  of  unrequited  hardships,  to  seek  the 
sea-shore  again.  Naked  and  famished,  the  remnant  of  the 
party,  having  reached  the  Bay  of  Pensacola,  manufactured 
rude  boats,  in  which  most  of  the  company,  with  Narvaez,  des- 

1  Herrera,  as  cited  by  Bancroft,  vol.  i.  33.  * 

2  Bancroft,  and  cited  authorities,  vol.  i.  60. 


26  HISTORY  OF   WISCONSIN. 

perately  embarked,  and  finally  perished  in  a  storm,  and  by 
famine  after  shipwreck,  near  the  mouths  of  the  Mississippi. 
Four  only  of  the  three  hundred  ultimately  reached  Mexico 
by  land,  after  years  of  hardships,  courageous  enterprise,  and 
wanderings  that  extended  across  Louisiana  and  the  northern 
part  of  Mexico,  to  the  shores  of  the  Pacific  Ocean  in  Sonora ; 
yet  even  this  melancholy  remnant,  notwithstanding  all  their 
sufferings  and  defeated  expectations,  still  persisted  in  the  tale 
of  the  golden  regions  of  Florida,  and  even  confirmed  it  by  the 
solemnity  of  an  oath  before  a  magistrate.1  They  returned 
in  1536. 

Stimulated  by  such  reports,  Ferdinand  de  Soto,  one  of  the 
•conquerors  of  Peru  under  Pizarro,  obtained  leave  to  conquer 
Florida  without  expense  to  the  Spanish  king.  In  May,  1539, 
accompanied  by  a  well-armed  and  brilliant  band  of  six  hun 
dred  men,  with  between  two  and  three  hundred  horses,  Do 
Soto  landed  in  the  Bay  of  Spiritu  Santo,  or  Tampa  Bay, 
eager,  adventurous,  and  full  of  hope  in  the  contemplated  en 
terprise.  For  the  first  five  months  the  adventurers  toiled  in 
vain,  until  they  reached  the  neighbourhood  of  Appalachee  Bay ; 
during  the  year  1540  they  passed  to  the  north-east,  and 
climbed  the  mountains  of  Georgia ;  again  they  turned  west 
ward,  and  in  October,  having  arrived  on  the  Alabama  river, 
they  fought  with  the  Indians  and  captured  the  town  of  Mavila, 
or  Mobile  ;  resuming  their  march  toward  the  Mississippi,  they 
passed  the  winter  near  the  Yazoo  ;  on  the  1st  of  April,  1541, 
De  Soto  reached  the  Great  River  not  far  from  the  thirty-fifth 
parallel  of  latitude  ;  and,  after  spending  a  month  in  preparing 
barges  to  transport  across  the  stream  such  of  their  horses  as 
still  were  alive,  the  explorers  crossed,  pursued  their  way  north 
ward  to  the  neighbourhood  of  New  Madrid,  and  turning  west 
ward  again,  marched  more  than  two  hundred  miles  from  the 
Mississippi  to  the  highlands  of  White  River ;  again  they 
toiled  on  to  the  south,  and  spent  a  third  winter  of  their  wan 
derings  on  the  Washita.  In  the  spring  of  1542,  De  Soto 

1  Bancroft,  vol.  i.  40. 


NEW   FRANCE   AND   LOUISIANA.  27 

descended  this  river  to  its  junction  with  the  Mississippi,  anx 
ious  to  learn  the  distance  and  direction  of  the  sea.  On  reach 
ing  the  Great  River,  he  was  informed,  that  below,  it  flowed 
through  endless  and  uninhabitable  swamps ;  in  order  to  learn 
the  truth,  he  sent  forward  horsemen,  who  advanced  only  thirty 
miles  in  eight  days.  Disappointment  struck  the  intrepid  war 
rior  to  the  heart;  his  men  and  horses  were  daily  wasting  and 
falling  around  him  ;  the  Indians  challenged  him  to  the  com 
bat  with  impunity ;  at  length  a  wasting  melancholy  seized 
him — his  health  sank  under  a  conflict  of  emotions,  and  a  ma 
lignant  fever  brought  his  life  to  a  close,  in  May,  1542.  "  Thus 
perished  Ferdinand  de  Soto,  the  governor  of  Cuba,  the  suc 
cessful  associate  of  Pizarro.  His  miserable  end  was  the  more 
observed  from  the  greatness  of  his  former  prosperity.  His 
soldiers  pronounced  his  eulogy  by  grieving  for  their  loss ;  the 
priests  chaunted  over  his  body  the  first  requiems  that  were 
ever  heard  on  the  waters  of  the  Mississippi.  To  conceal  his 
death,  his  body  was  wrapped  in  a  mantle,  and,  in  the  stillness 
of  midnight,  was  silently  sunk  in  the  middle  of  the  stream. 
The  discoverer  of  the  Mississippi  slept  beneath  its  waters. 
He  had  crossed  a  large  part  of  the  continent  in  search  of 
gold,  and  found  nothing  so  remarkable  as  his  burial-place."1 
His  remaining  followers,  hoping  to  reach  Mexico  by  land, 
again  turned  their  steps  westward,  and  penetrated  to  the  Red 
River,  the  sport  of  inimical  Indians  in  their  forest  wander 
ings.  They  were  unable  to  cross  the  Red  River,  and  once- 
more  going  eastward,  they  reached  the  Mississippi  in  Decem 
ber,  1542.  In  despair  of  rescuing  themselves  by  land,  they 
proceeded  to  prepare  such  vessels  as  they  could,  to  carry 
them  to  the  sea.  They  laboured  from  January  to  July,  1543, 
and  in  that  month,  in  the  vessels  thus  constructed,  they 
reached  the  Gulf  of  Mexico,  and  in  September  entered  the 
river  Panuco.  One-half  of  the  six  hundred  who  landed  with 
De  Soto  full  of  golden  hopes,  and  gay  in  the  display  of  war- 


1  Bancroft,  vol.   i.  57  ;   and  for  dates  and  authorities,  Bancroft  passim. 
Perkins's  Western  Annals,  p.  1,  etc. 


28  HISTORY  OF  WISCONSIN. 

like  habiliments,  had  left  their  bones  among  the  mountains 
and  in  the  morasses  of  the  South,  from  Georgia  to  Arkansas  !l 
Such  is  the  outline  of  the  history  of  the  expedition,  and  such 
the  fate  of  Ferdinand  de  Soto. 

It  was  reserved  for  religion  to  accomplish  that  enterprise 
in  which  a  desire  of  conquest  and  the  thirst  for  gold  had  failed ; 
the  Mississippi  valley  had  yet  to  be  reached  from  the  north 
east,  by  the  route  of  the  great  lakes ;  and  all  the  countless 
benefits  which  have  flowed  from  its  settlement  and  cultivation, 
not  only  to  its  own  inhabitants  and  to  the  United  States,  but 
to  all  mankind,  in  a  commercial  point  of  view,  have  had  their 
foundation  in  a  prominent  degree  in  the  religious  zeal  of  the 
disciples  of  Loyola.  The  discovery  of  the  north-west  region 
was  made,  missionary  posts  established,  friendship  cultivated 
with  the  numerous  savage  tribes,  churches  erected,  and  con 
verted  red  men  formed  into  congregations  of  worshipping  Chris 
tians  ;  the  country  was  explored,  and  the  Upper  Mississippi  not 
only  discovered,  but  traced  from  the  Falls  of  St.  Anthony  of 
Padua  to  the  Gulf  of  Mexico ;  and  all  these  through  the  priva 
tions,  the  sufferings,  the  untiring  labours  of  the  French  mission 
aries.  To  use  the  language  of  our  eloquent  historian,  they  were 
employed  "in  confirming  the  influence  of  France  in  those  vast 
regions,  mingling  business  with  suffering,  and  winning  endur 
ing  glory  by  their  fearless  perseverance."  Alas,  how  deplor 
able  the  contrast  in  their  enterprises  and  the  results  of  them, 
between  the  warlike  and  mail-begirt  Spanish  adventurers,  and 
the  meek  and  robe-clad  missionaries  of  the  West ! 

More  than  a  century  had  passed  from  the  expedition  of  De 
Soto,  and  no  result  had  sprung  from  it,  except  a  deadly  hatred 
of  the  white  man,  among  all  the  tribes  of  Indians  which  had 
been  visited  and  warred  upon  by  the  Spaniard.  In  1611,  the 
French  settled  in  Eastern  Maine,  nine  years  previous  to  the 
landing  of  the  Pilgrims.  Early  as  1616,  Le  Caron,  a 
Franciscan  friar,  the  companion  of  Champlain,  had  reached 
the  rivers  of  Lake  Huron  from  the  land  of  the  Mohawks,  on 

*  Bancroft.     Perk.  West.  Annals. 


NEW   FRANCE   AND   LOUISIANA.  29 

foot,  and  paddling  a  bark  canoe.  In  1627,  a  number  of  opu 
lent  merchants  in  France  obtained  from  Louis  XIII.  a  char 
ter  grant  of  New  France.  After  the  restoration  of  Quebec, 
in  1632,  by  the  English,  they  entered  on  the  government  of 
their  province.  Within  the  limits  of  their  grant  was  included 
the  whole  basin  of  the  St.  Lawrence,  and  of  such  other  rivers 
as  flowed  directly  into  the  sea,  and  also  Florida,  or  the  coun 
try  south  of  Virginia,  which  was  claimed  as  a  French  province, 
although  an  attempt  by  Coligni  to  settle  it  had  failed.  The 
commercial  enterprise  of  colonizing  Canada  was  attended  by 
the  powerful  stimulant  of  religious  zeal;  but  the  vowed  po 
verty  of  life  and  simplicity  of  the  Franciscans,  although  the 
chosen  friends  of  Champlain,  the  governor  of  Canada,  ren 
dered  them  free  from  ambition ;  and  the  great  office  of  esta 
blishing  the  honours  of  the  Galilean  Church,  and  converting 
the  heathen  of  Canada,  and  thus  enlarging  the  borders  of 
French  dominion,  was  entrusted  solely  to  the  rival  order  of 
the  Jesuits.  "  The  history  of  their  labours  is  connected  with 
the  origin  of  every  celebrated  town  in  the  annals  of  French 
America  ;  not  a  cape  was  turned  nor  a  river  entered  but  a 
Jesuit  led  the  way."  1 

After  undergoing  great  fatigue  and  suffering,  the  Jesuits 
Brebeuf  and  Daniel,  followed  soon  by  Lallemand,  made  their 
way  to  the  West  in  1634.  They  had  joined  a  party  of  Hurons 
returning  from  Quebec,  and,  by  lakes,  rivers,  and  forests,  had 
now  penetrated  to  the  heart  of  the  Huron  wilderness.  Near 
the  shore  of  Lake  Iroquois,  north-west  of  Lake  Toronto,  was 
raised  the  first  house  of  the  Society  of  Jesus,  and  soon  two  vil 
lages,  named  St.  Louis  and  St.  Ignatius,  sprang  up  among  the 
Huron  forests.  The  mission  of  Brebeuf  gave  us  a  knowledge 
of  the  watercourse  of  the  St.  Lawrence  valley,  and  from  the  map 
published  in  1660,  it  appears  that  the  Jesuits  had  examined 
the  country  from  the  waters  of  the  "  Ungbiara,"  or  Niagara, 
as  we  write  it,  to  the  head  of  Lake  Superior,  and  had  even 
gained  a  glimpse  of  Lake  Michigan.  Missions  were  also  esta- 

i  Bancroft,  vol.  iii.  118  et  seq. 


30  HISTORY  OF  WISCONSIN. 

blished  and  converts  made,  but  the  martyrdom  of  Daniel,  of 
Jogues,  of  Brebeuf,  and  of  Lallemand,  by  their  savage  ene 
mies,  was  the  price  at  which  they  obtained  a  knowledge  of  the 
West,  and  endeavoured  to  lay  the  foundation  of  the  Christian 
church  among  the  heathen.1 

As  early  as  1638,  an  Indian  chief,  who  dwelt  on  the  head 
waters  of  the  Ohio,  visited  the  missions  ;  and  constant  men 
tion  is  made  in  the  annals  of  the  Jesuits,  of  the  Algonquins 
from  the  West,  especially  from  Green  Bay.  In  1640,  the 
hostility  of  the  Five  Nations  prevented  the  access  of  Raym- 
bault  and  Picard  to  the  West,  the  place  of  their  destination ; 
but  in  1641,  at  a  great  feast  of  the  dead,  held  by  the  Algon 
quins  of  Lake  Nipising,  the  Jesuits  were  invited  to  visit  the 
nation  of  the  Chippewas  at  Sault  St.  Marie  ;2  and  on  the  17th 
of  September,  1641,  we  find  fathers  Raymbault  and  Jogues, 
the  first  envoys  from  Christendom,  leaving  the  Bay  of  Pene- 
tangushe,  in  a  birch-bark  canoe,  for  the  Falls  of  St.  Mary, 
where,  after  a  passage  of  seventeen  days,  they  met  two  thou 
sand  Indians,  who  had  assembled  to  receive  them.  From  them 
the  worthy  fathers  learned  of  many  unknown  nations ;  they 
heard  of  the  Nadouisses,  or  Sioux,  as  living  eighteen  days' 
journey  further  west,  beyond  the  great  lake,  then  without  a 
name ;  and  thus  the  French  were  looking  toward  the  homes 
of  the  Sioux  in  the  valley  of  the  Mississippi,  five  years  before 
the  New  England  Eliot  had  addressed  the  tribes  of  Indians 
that  dwelt  within  six  miles  of  Boston  harbour.3 

The  hospitable  Chippewas  invited  the  Jesuits  to  dwell  with 
them  as  brothers,  and  expressed  a  willingness  to  derive  profit 
from  their  words;  but  sickness  seized  upon  Raymbault,  the 
first  apostle  to  the  tribes  of  Michigan,  and  he  died  in  1642. 
In  the  extent  of  his  enterprising  views  of  discovery,  he  ex 
pected  even  to  reach  the  ocean  that  divides  America  from 
China.  In  August,  1654,  two  fur-traders  joined  a  band  of 
Ottawas,  and  ventured  on  a  western  voyage  of  five  hundred 
leagues ;  in  two  years  they  returned,  accompanied  with  fifty 

1  Bancroft,  vol.  iii.  328.  2Ibid.  p.  131,  and  Relations.  3  ibid. 


NEW    FRANCE  AND   LOUISIANA.  31 

canoes  and  two  hundred  and  fifty  men ;  they  described  the 
vast  lakes  of  the  West,  spoke  of  the  Knisteneaux,  whose 
homes  stretched  to  the  Northern  Sea ;  and  of  the  Sioux,  who 
dwelt  beyond  Lake  Superior,  and  demanded  commerce  with 
the  whites  for  the  wants  of  the  red  man.  The  traders  pressed 
forward  to  Green  Bay,  and  two  of  them  passed  the  winter  of 
1659  on  the  banks  of  the  Lake  Superior ;  the  religious  zeal 
of  the  bishop  of  Quebec  was  thereby  excited,  and  Pere  Ren£ 
Mesnard  was  chosen  to  visit  Green  Bay  and  Lake  Superior, 
and  to  establish  a  residence,  and  a  place  of  assembly  for  all 
the  surrounding  nations.  In  October,  1G60,  Mesnard  reached 
Keweena,  on  the  south  shore  of  Lake  Superior,  and  eight 
months  afterward  he  left  that  place  for  the  Bay  of  Chegoie- 
megon,  with  only  one  attendant,  for  the  purpose  of  visiting 
the  Hurons  in  the  Isle  of  St.  Michael.  He  took  the  route  by 
the  way  of  Keweena  Lake  and  Portage  ;  there,  while  his  at 
tendant  was  transporting  the  canoe,  Mesnard  wandered  in  the 
forest,  and  was  never  more  seen  ;  long  after,  his  breviary  and 
cassock  were  kept  as  amulets  among  the  Sioux.1 

In  1665,  Pere  Claude  Allouez  embarked  on  a  mission  to 
the  far  West.  He  reached  the  Falls  of  St.  Mary  in  Septem 
ber ;  he  entered  the  lake,  and,  sailing  along  the  southern 
shore,  in  vain  search  of  the  mass  of  pure  copper  of  which  he 
had  heard,  at  length  arrived  at  the  great  village  of  the  Chip- 
pewas  at  Chegoiemegon.  A  grand  council  was  there  held,  of 
ten  or  twelve  of  the  neighbouring  nations.  To  this  council 
came  the  Potowatamies  from  Lake  Michigan ;  the  Sacs  and 
Foxes  from  the  West ;  the  Hurons  from  north  of  Lake  Supe 
rior  ;  the  Illinois  also  came,  whose  tale  of  sorrow,  of  ancient 
glory  and  diminished  numbers,  in  consequence  of  warfare 
with  the  Sioux  on  the  one  side,  and  the  Iroquois  on  the  other, 
•was  accompanied  with  their  enticing  description  of  their  noble 
river  flowing  to  the  South,  on  which  they  dwelt,  their  vast 
prairies,  and  the  absence  of  forests  in  their  land,  although  re 
plete  with  buffalo  and  herds  of  deer.  There  also  came  the 

1  Bancroft,  vol.  iii.  148,  and  Relations. 


HISTORY  OF  WISCONSIN. 

Sioux  from  the  west  of  Lake  Superior,  or  the  land  of  prairies 
and  of  wild  rice,  who  reported  the  great  river  on  whose  banks 
they  dwelt,  and  which  Father  Allouez  states  as  named  "Mes- 
sippi."  To  the  assembled  nations  Allouez  offered  commerce, 
and  an  alliance  with  France  against  their  enemies,  the  Iro- 
quois.  In  1667,  he  returned  to  Quebec,  and  in  1668,  Claude 
Dablon  and  James  Marquette  repaired  to  the  Chippewas  at 
the  Sault,  to  establish  the  mission  of  St.  Mary's ;  it  is  the 
oldest  settlement  began  by  Europeans  within  the  bounds  of 
the  State  of  Michigan;  and  the  commencement  of  the  old 
town  of  Michillimackinac,  in  1671,  is  ascribed  to  the  exertions 
and  the  influence  of  Marquette.1 

The  purpose  of  discovering  the  Mississippi,  of  which  the 
natives  had  told  the  grandeur,  sprang  from  Marquette  him 
self,  in  1669 ;  in  the  interval  of  delay  which  occurred,  he  de 
voted  his  time  to  the  study  of  the  Illinois  tongue,  with  a  view 
to  facilitate  his  intercourse  with  the  nations  he  expected  to 
meet  in  his  contemplated  voyage  of  discovery.2  The  protec 
tion  afforded  to  the  Algonquins  of  the  West,  by  their  commerce 
with  France,  confirmed  their  attachment,  and  created  a  poli 
tical  interest  which  extended  to  Colbert  and  the  ministry  of 
Louis  XIV.  The  Intendant  Talon  determined  to  spread  the 
power  of  France  to  the  utmost  borders  of  Canada,  and  for 
this  purpose  Nicholas  Perrot  was  despatched  to  the  West,  as 
the  agent  of  Talon,  to  propose  a  congress  of  the  nations  at 
St.  Mary's.  The  invitation  extended  to  the  tribes  of  Lake 
Superior ;  it  was  carried  to  the  wandering  hordes  of  the  re 
motest  north  ;  and  escorted  from  Green  Bay  by  Potowatamies, 
Perrot,  the  first  of  Europeans,  repaired  on  the  same  mission 
of  friendship  to  the  Miamis  at  Chicago. 

The  day  appointed  arrived  in  May,  1671.  At  the  Falls  of 
St.  Mary  was  then  gathered  a  great  congress  of  Indian  na 
tions  from  the  whole  country  from  the  head-springs  of  the  St. 
Lawrence,  the  Mississippi,  and  the  Red  River;  and  it  was 
announced  that  they  were  placed  under  the  protection  of  the 

1  Bancroft,  vol.  iii.  148,  scq.,  and  Relations.  a  Ibid. 


NEW   FRANCE   AND  LOUISIANA.  33 

Trench  kings.  In  the  same  year,  Marquette  gathered  the 
remains  of  one  branch  of  the  Hurons  at  Point  St.  Ignace, 
which  establishment  was  long  considered  as  the  key  to  the 
West.  The  countries  south  of  this  were  explored  by  Allouez 
and  Dablon,  who  bore  the  cross  through  Eastern  Wisconsin 
and  the  north  of  Illinois,  visiting  the  Mascoutens  and  Kicka- 
poos  on  the  Milwaukee,  and  the  Miamis  at  the  bead  of  Lake 
Michigan,  and  extending  their  journeys  to  the  Foxes  on  the 
river  of  that  name,  fearless  of  danger,'  and  indefatigable  in 
religious  zeal.1 

The  great  enterprise  projected  by  Marquette  had  been  fa 
vored  by  Talon,  the  intendant  of  New  France,2  who  wished 
to  signalize  the  last  period  of  his  stay  in  Canada,  by  ascer 
taining  if  the  French,  descending  the  great  river  of  the  cen 
tral  West,  could  bear  the  banner  of  France  to  the  Pacific,  or 
plant  it  side  by  side  with  that  of  Spain  on  the  Gulf  of  Mexico. 
The  discovery  of  the  Upper  Mississippi,  the  great  western 
river,  whose  course  was  to  the  south,  was  now  at  hand,  to  be 
accomplished  by  Joliet,  of  Quebec,  of  whom  there  is  no 
record  but  of  this  one  excursion,  and  by  Marquette,  who  after 
years  of  attention  to  the  welfare  of  the  Huroris  at  the  cold 
extremity  of  Michigan,  entered  with  equal  zeal  and  humanity 
upon  a  career  of  danger,  in  which  life  was  perilled,  and  which 
in  its  results  has  affected  the  destiny  of  nations.3 

On  the  13th  of  May,  1673,  Marquette,  with  the  Sieur  Jo 
liet,  who  had  been  chosen  to  conduct  the  enterprise,  and  five 
other  Frenchmen,  in  two  bark  canoes,  with  a  little  Indian 
corn  and  some  dried  meat  for  their  only  provision,  embarked 
from  their  mission,  on  the  daring  adventure  of  exploring  the 
country  and  discovering  the  nations  of  the  unknown  West. 
The  Indians  called  the  Fols  Avoine  (wild  oats  or  wild  rice) 
tribe,  when  informed  of  his  design,  were  astonished,  and  en 
deavoured  to  dissuade  him,  by  representing  the  distant  nations 


'Bancroft  vol.  iii.  154,  nnd  Relations. 
2Charlevoix,  Nouv.  France,  torn.  ii.  218  et  seq. 
s  Bancroft,  vol.  iii.  156. 
VOL.  I.— 3 


g4  HISTORY  OF   WISCONSIN. 

as  always  at  war  with  each  other,  and  never  sparing  stran 
gers  ;  that  the  great  river  was  not  only  dangerous  of  naviga 
tion,  but  was  full  of  frightful  monsters,  who  devoured  men 
and  canoes  together  ;  and  that  there  was  even  a  demon,  who 
closed  the  passage  of  the  river,  and  swallowed  up  those  who 
dared  to  approach ;  and,  in  fine,  that  the  heats  were  so  ex 
cessive  as  infallibly  to  cause  death.1 

Nothing  daunted  by  these  terrifying  descriptions,  Marquette 
told  them  that  he  was  willing  to  lay  down  his  life  for  that 
cause  in  which  the  salvation  of  souls  was  concerned,  and  after 
having  prayed  together,  they  separated,  and  the  adventurers 
arrived  at  the  Bay  des  Puants,  now  Green  Bay. 

Leaving  the  bay,  the  good  father  entered  the  Fox  River, 
and  found  the  ascent  difficult  on  account  of  the  current,  and 
also  of  the  rocks,  which  cut  the  feet  of  those  who  dragged  the 
canoes  when  the  water  was  low.  At  the  station  which  termi 
nated  the  discoveries  of  the  French,  he  found  a  village  com 
posed  of  three  Indian  nations,  as  he  termed  them,  the  Miamis, 
the  Mascoutens,  and  the  Kikabeaux,  and  had  the  extreme  con 
solation  of  seeing  a  beautiful  cross  planted  in  the  middle  of 
the  town,  ornamented  with  white  skins,  red  girdles,  and  bows 
and  arrows,  which  those  good  people  had  offered  to  the  great 
Manitou,  or  God,  to  thank  him  for  the  pity  he  had  bestowed 
on  them  during  the  winter,  in  having  given  them  an  abundant 
chase.  Here,  also,  Marquette  drank  of  mineral  waters,  and 
was  made  acquainted  with  the  secret  of  the  root  which  cures 
the  venomous  bite  of  the  rattlesnake ;  and  he  describes  the 
beauty  of  the  site  of  the  village,  as  being  a  mound  surrounded 
by  extensive  prairies,  interspersed  with  woods  and  groves,  and 
fertile  in  the  production  of  Indian  corn,  of  plums,  and  of 
grapes.2 

The  old  men  of  the  village  were  assembled  by  the  explorers ; 
Marquette  told  them  that  Joliet  had  been  sent  on  the  part  of 

1  Marquette,  Voyage,  &c.,  reprint  from  Thevenot,  Recueil,  &c.  1681,  by  O. 
Rich  &  Sons,  Paris  and  London,  1845,  p.  3,  4. 

2  Idem,  7,  8. 


NEW  FRANCE   AND   LOUISIANA.  35 

the  governor  of  Canada,  to  discover  new  countries,  and  him 
self  on  the  part  of  God,  to  spread  the  light  of  the  holy  evan 
gelists  ;  that  the  Sovereign  Master  of  their  lives  would  that 
he  should  be  known  unto  all  nations ;  and  to  obey  his  will,  he 
feared  not  death  itself,  to  which  he  was  exposed  in  his  peril 
ous  journeys  ;  and  that  they  wished  two  guides  to  put  them  on 
their  route.  The  request  was  accompanied  with  a  present, 
and  the  guides  were  furnished  to  them,  together  with  a  mat, 
to  serve  as  a  bed  during  the  voyage. 

The  following  morning,  June  10th,  1673,  in  the  presence 
of  a  great  number  of  Indians,  assembled  to  witness  so  extra 
ordinary  and  hazardous  an  expedition,  seven  Frenchmen  and 
two  Miami  guides  embarked  in  their  two  canoes,  with  the 
knowledge  only  that  at  three  leagues  from  the  Mascoutena 
was  a  river  which  discharged  itself  into  the  Mississippi ;  that 
its  course  was  west  of  south-west  ;  that  the  route  to  it  was 
replete  with  marshes  and  small  lakes,  and  the  channel  often 
so  obstructed  with  wild  oats  as  to  render  its  discovery  diffi 
cult.  "  For  this,"  says  Marquette,  "we  had  occasion  for  our 
guides,  and  they  conducted  us,  happily,  to  a  portage  of  two 
thousand  seven  hundred  paces,  and  aided  us  to  transport  our 
canoes  to  enter  this  river,  after  which  they  returned,  leav 
ing  us  alone,  in  this  unknown  country,  in  the  hands  of  Provi 
dence."1 

In  1542,  De  Soto  had  crossed  the  great  river  of  the  West, 
"with  an  army  of  mail-clad  warriors,  brilliantly  equipped  in 
"pomp  and  circumstance,"  in  search  of  conquest  and  of  gold; 
in  1678  the  pious  and  gentle  Marquette,  clothed  with  the 
coarse  habit  of  his  order,  with  only  six  companions,  embarked 
in  frail  bark  canoes,  on  unknown  waters,  to  search  their  out 
let  into  the  same  great  river  of  the  West,  to  explore  new 
countries  in  the  spirit  of  peace,  and  to  spread  the  knowledge 
of  the  gospel  in  the  bonds  of  love  !  "  And  now  France  and 
Christianity  stood  in  the  valley  of  the  Mississippi !" 

1  Marquette,  Voyage,  reprint,  &c.  p.  8,  9. 


3(5  HISTORY   OF   WISCONSIN. 

In  leaving  the  waters  which  flowed  toward  Quebec,  to 
enter  those  which  henceforth  conducted  them  into  strange 
lands,  Marquette  and  his  companions  addressed  themselves  in 
prayer  to  the  Holy  Virgin,  which  devotion,  he  meekly  says, 
they  practised  daily,  placing  under  her  protection  their  per 
sons  and  the  success  of  their  voyage.  After  having  encou 
raged  each  other,  they  stepped  into  their  canoes,  and  boldly 
embarked  on  the  bosom  of  the  Mescousin,  since  known  as  the 
Ouisconsin ;  but  when  or  in  what  manner  the  name  was 
altered,  is  not  accurately  ascertained.  The  first  mention  of 
the  river  by  this  latter  name  is  by  Hennepin,  when  he  ascended 
it  from  the  Mississippi,  in  1680,  on  his  return  from  the  Falls 
of  St.  Anthony  to  Quebec.  This  river  is  described  as  very 
wide,  with  sandy  bottoms,  causing  many  banks,  and  rendering 
the  navigation  very  difficult ;  full  of  vine-covered  isles,  and 
bordered  with  fine  lands,  comprising  woods,  prairies,  and  rising 
grounds.  The  adventurers  found  roebucks  and  buffalo  in  abun 
dant  numbers,  and  perceived  appearances  of  iron-mines.  Af 
ter  a  navigation  of  forty  leagues  on  this  river,  on  the  17th  of 
June,  1678,  "with  a  joy,"  says  Marquette,  "which  I  cannot 
express,  we  happily  entered  the  Mississippi,  in  the  latitude  of 
forty- two  degrees  and  a  half."1 

It  is  somewhat  remarkable  that,  during  the  whole  course 
from  the  portage  to  the  mouth  of  the  Wisconsin,  Marquette 
neither  saw  an  Indian  village,  nor  met  with  a  native  Indian; 
nor  did  he,  in  descending  the  Mississippi,  see  an  inhabitant  of 
the  country,  until  he  reached  the  fortieth  degree  of  latitude, 
or  near  that  elevation,  when  on  the  25th  of  June,  footsteps 
and  a  path  were  perceived  on  the  western  bank.  Leaving  the 
men  to  guard  the  canoe,  Marquette  and  Juliet  fearlessly  fol 
lowed  these  indications  of  human  beings,  and  after  a  walk  of 
six  miles,  discovered  a  village  on  the  banks  of  a  river,  and 
two  others  on  the  rising  grounds,  about  half  a  league  distant. 
They  boldly  penetrated  into  the  village,  and  were  received 
not  only  with  great  astonishment  by  the  inhabitants,  as  they 

1  Marquette,  Voyage,  reprint,  p.  10. 


NEW   FRANCE   AND   LOUISIANA.  37 

•were  unquestionably  the  first  Europeans  who  had  ever  trod 
the  soil  of  what  is  now  Iowa,  but  the  calumet,  or  sacred  peace 
pipe,  and  its  accompanying  hospitality,  was  tendered  to  them. 
They  were  informed  that  the  nation  was  called  "Illini,"  or 
"the  men,"  and  that  their  village  and  the  river  on  which  it 
was  situated,  was  called  Mou-in-gou-ina,  now  called  by  us  the 
Des  Moiries.  The  adventurers  stayed  six  days  with  their 
new  friends,  obtaining  information  of  their  customs,  and,  hav 
ing  been  accompanied  to  their  canoes  by  the  chief,  and  hun 
dreds  of  warriors,  they  again  embarked  on  their  voyage, 
while  Marquette  was  ornamented  by  the  Illini  with  the  sa 
cred  calumet,  the  mysterious  arbiter  of  peace  and  war,  the 
safeguard  among  the  nations.1 

The  voyagers  proceeded  ;  they  passed  the  Peketanoni,  now 
known  as  the  Missouri,  and  the  good  Marquette  determined 
at  some  future  period  to  explore  it  to  its  source,  hoping  to 
find  thence  another  river,  which  flowing  westwardly  would 
discharge  itself  into  the  Vermilion  Sea,  or,  flowing  south 
wardly,  would  lead  to  California  :  of  such  streams  he  had  been 
informed  by  the  natives.  In  a  distance  of  forty  leagues,  they 
passed  the  Ouabache,  as  the  Ohio  was  then  and  long  after 
ward  called,  and  finally  descended  the  Mississippi,  until  they 
had  reached  a  point  below  the  Arkansas,  about  five  days'  jour 
ney  from  the  sea.  Having  ascertained  the  fact  of  the  discharge 
of  the  Mississippi  into  the  Gulf  of  Mexico,  in  Florida,  and 
not  in  Virginia,  on  the  east,  Marquette  and  Joliet  determined 
on  their  return,  being  fearful  of  falling  into  the  hands  of  the 
Spaniards,  whereby  the  rich  fruits  of  their  discoveries  would 
be  lost  to  France.  Retracing  their  river  path,  on  the  17th 
of  July  they  left  the  village  of  Akamsca,  and  ascended  the 
Mississippi  until  they  came  into  the  thirty-eighth  parallel  of 
latitude,  when  they  entered  a  river  now  called  the  Illinois, 
by  means  of  which  they  reached  the  Lake  of  the  Illinois,  now 
Lake  Michigan,  by  a  shorter  route,  says  Marquette,  than  by 
the  Mescousin.  They  were  guided  by  an  Illinois  chief  and  his 

1  Marquette,  Voyage,  reprint,  p.  11. 


gg  HISTORY  OF  WISCONSIN. 

young  men  to  the  lake,  whence  the  adventurous  travellers 
proceeded  to  the  Bay  des  Puants,  about  the  end  of  the  month 
of  September,  from  which  they  had  departed  near  the  begin 
ning  of  the  month  of  June. 

M.  Joliet  separated  from  Marquette  at  Green  Bay,  and 
returned  to  Montreal.  In  passing  the  rapids,  just  before  he 
reached  that  city,  his  canoe  was  overset,  and  his  journal  and 
all  his  other  papers  were  lost.  He  dictated  a  few  particulars 
relative  to  his  voyage  down  the  Mississippi,  amounting  to 
no  more  than  three  or  four  pages,  which  were  published,1  and 
which  agree,  as  far  as  they  extend,  with  the  narrative  of 
Father  Marquette.  (NOTE  A.) 

In  addition  to  this  narrative,  nothing  is  known  of  Mar 
quette,  except  what  is  said  of  him  by  Charlevoix.2  After  re 
turning  from  his  last  expedition,  he  took  up  his  residence,  and 
remained  to  preach  the  gospel  to  the  Miamis  who  dwelled  in 
the  north  of  Illinois,  round  Chicago.  Two  years  afterward, 
while  sailing  from  Chicago  along  the  eastern  shore  of  Lake 
Michigan,  toward  Michillimackinac,  he  entered  a  small  river  in 
Michigan,  on  the  18th  of  May,  1675.  Having  landed,  he  erected 
an  altar,  and  celebrated  mass  according  to  the  rites  of  the  Ca 
tholic  church  ;  then  requesting  the  two  men  who  conducted  his 
canoe  to  leave  him  alone  for  half  an  hour,  he  retired  a  short 
distance  in  the  silent  woods.  When  the  time  had  elapsed,  the 
men  went  to  seek  for  him,  and  found  him  dead.  They  were 
greatly  surprised,  as  they  had  not  discovered  any  symptoms  of 
illness ;  but  they  remembered  that  when  he  was  entering  the 
river,  he  expressed  a  presentiment  that  his  voyage  would  end 
there.  The  good  missionary  discoverer  of  a  world,  had  fallen 
asleep  on  the  margin  of  a  stream  that  to  this  day  retains  the 
name  of  "Marquette."  Near  its  mouth  the  canoe-men  dug  his 
grave  in  the  sand,  and  ever  after,  the  forest  rangers,  if  in  dan 
ger  on  Lake  Michigan,  would  invoke  his  name.  The  place  of 
his  grave  is  still  pointed  out  to  the  traveller,  but  his  remains 


'They  are  found  in  Hennepin,  ed.  1698. 
2  Hist,  do  Nouvelle  France,  torn.  ii.  254. 


NEW   FRANCE   AND   LOUISIANA.  39 

were   removed   the  year   after   his    death   to  Michillimacki- 
nac.1     (NOTE  B.) 

Inseparable  from  the  history  of  the  valley  of  the  Missis 
sippi,  and  well  deserving  of  honour  and  fame,  is  the  name  of 
Robert  Cavelier  de  la  Salle.  In  his  youth  he  had  entered 
the  seminary  of  the  Jesuits,  and  thus  had  relinquished  his 
patrimony;  having  left  the  society  with  honour,  but  in  poverty, 
we  find  him  in  the  spirit  of  enterprise,  about  the  year  1667, 
seeking  fame  and  fortune  in  New  France.  As  a  fur-trader 
established  near  the  present  site  of  Montreal,  he  explored 
Lakes  Ontario  and  Erie ;  and  having  repaired  to  France  full 
of  enthusiasm  for  the  discovery  and  colonization  of  the  West, 
he  obtained  the  rank  of  nobility,  valuable  grants  of  land  at 
fort  Frontenac,  and  the  protection  of  Colbert,  the  French 
minister,  together  with  the  friendship  of  Seignelay,  Colbert's 
son.  In  1678,  he  returned  to  fort  Frontenac,  (now  Kings 
ton,)  and  in  a  wooden  canoe  of  ten  tons,  the  first  that  ever 
sailed  into  Niagara  River,  he  carried  a  company  to  the  vicinity 
of  the  falls.  In  1679,  La  Salle  had  built  a  vessel  of  sixty 
tons  burthen,  and  on  the  7th  of  August,  on  the  upper  Niagara 
River,  amid  the  astonishment  of  the  Indians,  the  discharge  of 
artillery,  and  the  chant  of  a  solemn  Te  Deum,  the  "  Griffin" 
was  launched,  and  her  sails  spread  to  the  breezes  of  Lake 
Erie.  La  Salle  passed  over  the  Lake,  through  the  "  Detroit," 
built  a  trading  house  at  Mackinaw,  and  cast  anchor  at  Green 
Bay.  Having  sent  back  his  "  Griffin"  to  Niagara  River,  well 
laden  with  furs,  he  repaired  with  a  part  of  his  company  (among 
whom  we  find  Hennepin)  along  the  western  shore  of  Lake 
Michigan,  to  its  head  near  St.  Joseph's.  Determined  to  pene 
trate  through  the  country  to  the  great  river  of  the  West,  he 
ascended  the  St.  Joseph's,  and  having  discovered  a  portage 
over  swamps  and  bogs,  entered  the  Kankakee,  and  thence 
descending  the  Illinois  River,  he  first  met  with  the  natives  on 
the  banks  of  Lake  Peoria.  An  alliance  offensive  and  defen- 

1  Bancroft,  vol.  iii.  161.     Sparks'  Life  of  Marquette. 


40  HISTORY   OF   WISCONSIN. 

eive  was  formed  between  the  Illinois  and  the  French,  and  La 
Salle  learned  the  course  of  the  Mississippi  to  its  mouth,  and 
received  the  promise  of  guides  to  conduct  him  there.  But 
misfortunes,  then  irremediable,  and  sufficient  to  cause  the 
stoutest  heart  to  despond  and  almost  despair,  overwhelmed 
De  la  Salle ;  his  beloved  "  Griffin"  was  wrecked  in  her  voy 
age  around  the  Lakes;  his  fortune  was  greatly  impaired ;  his 
expected  store  of  supplies  for  colonization  was  effectually  cut 
off;  and  his  men  became  discontented  and  fearful  for  their 
situation.  Yet  under  these  discouraging  circumstances,  the 
great  mind,  the  all-powerful  will,  and  indomitable  energy  of 
De  la  Salle  was  exhibited  in  his  determination  and  his  acts. 
He  commenced  building  a  fort  below  Peoria  Lake,  which  was 
named  Crevecoeur,  or  Broken-heart ;  he  set  his  men  to  work 
to  prepare  timber  for  building  a  bark  ;  he  sent  Hennepin  on 
a  voyage  of  discovery  up  the  Mississippi ;  and  as  sails  and 
cordage  were  necessary  for  his  contemplated  exploration  of 
the  Mississippi  to  its  mouth,  he  determined  on  endeavouring  to 
reach  the  nearest  French  settlement,  fifteen  hundred  miles 
distant,  on  foot,  in  the  depth  of  winter,  without  food  or  drink, 
except  such  as  the  chase  and  the  brook  would  supply,  and  with 
only  three  companions  for  solace  and  protection.  What  an 
exhibition  of  the  energy  of  De  In  Salle's  character !  But  in 
all  these  well-devised  plans  for  future  action  in  his  discoveries, 
he  succeeded  only  where  he  himself  was  present. 

During  his  absence  to  Fort  Frontenac,  the  Chevalier  Tonti 
had  been  left  in  command  of  Fort  Crevecoeur,  with  directions 
to  build  a  new  fort  on  a  cliff  about  two  hundred  feet  above 
the  river,  near  a  village  of  the  Illinois,  now  called  Rock  Fort. 
In  attempting  to  fortify  this  post,  men  deserted  from  Creve 
coeur  ;  and  the  Iroquois  Indians,  in  September,  1680,  de 
scended  the  river,  threatening  destruction  to  the  new  colony. 
Tonti,  after  a  parley  with  the  enemy,  fled  with  the  few  men 
that  remained  with  him  to  the  Potawatamies  on  Lake  Michi 
gan,  and  when  La  Salle  returned,  in  1681,  with  large  supplies 
of  men  and  stores,  he  found  the  post  at  Illinois  deserted.  la 


NEW   FRANCE   AND   LOUISIANA.  41 

the  mean  while,  Hennepin  had  proceeded  according  to  his  di 
rections,  up  the  Mississippi  to  the  country  of  the  Sioux.1 

After  the  unavoidable  delay  of  another  year  in  building  a 
barge,  in  searching  for  Tonti  and  his  men,  and  in  visiting 
Green  Bay  for  the  purpose  of  conducting  some  traffic  there, 
La  Salle  descended  the  Mississippi  to  the  sea,  and,  formally 
taking  possession  of  the  whole  new  country  watered  by  the 
Mississippi,  from  its  mouth  to  its  source,  for  France,  he  named 
it  "  Louisiana ;"  erected  a  column  and  a  cross  with  an  inscrip 
tion,  "  Louis  the  Great,  king  of  France  and  Navarre,  reign 
ing,  April  9th,  1682;"  issued  a  proces  verbal  on  the  event  of 
his  journey  and  discovery,  attested  by  Jacques  de  la  Metairie, 
notary,  and  the  men  who  accompanied  him,  as  witnesses ; 
called  the  great  river  "  Colbert,"  after  the  name  of  the  minis 
ter  of  Louis  XIV. ;  ascertained  the  three  channels  by  which 
the  river  entered  the  sea,  to  be  in  the  latitude  of  about 
twenty-seven  degrees  ;  and,  no  doubt  exulting  in  the  success 
of  his  great  enterprise  and  discovery,  he  ascended  the  river 
Illinois,  and  in  May,  1683,  returned  to  Quebec  for  the  purpose 
of  sailing  to  France.2  (NOTE  C.) 

The  remaining  history  of  De  la  Salle  is  a  tissue  of  mis 
fortunes  and  disasters,  which  terminated  in  his  death.  When 
he  arrived  in  France,  Colbert  was  dead,  but  his  son,  Seigne- 
lay,  was  minister  of  marine,  and  on  the  reports  of  La  Salle 
in  regard  to  the  importance  of  Louisiana  to  the  French  crown, 
a  fleet  was  prepared,  and  great  preparations  made  for  colo 
nizing  the  new  country ;  two  hundred  and  eighty  persons,  of 
whom  one  hundred  were  soldiers,  and  a  proportion  were  young 
women  and  mechanics,  were  destined  for  the  work  of  per 
manent  colonization.  From  the  commencement  of  the  voyage 
disputes  arose  between  Beaujeu,  who  had  command  of  tho 
fleet,  and  La  Salle,  whose  correct  judgment  on  the  contem 
plated  objects  of  the  expedition  were  constantly  thwarted. 


1  Charlevoix,  Nouv.  France,  vol.  ii.  275,  276. 

2  Bancroft,  vol.  iii.     Memoir  de  le  Sieur  de  la  Tonty,  1693.     Life  of  La 
Salle.     French's  Hist.  Collections  of  Louisiana. 


42  HISTORY   OP   WISCONSIN. 

They  entered  the  Gulf  of  Mexico,  and  on  the  10th  of  Janu 
ary,  1685,  they  were  probably  near  the  mouth  of  the  Missis 
sippi,  but  the  fleet  sailed  by  j1  La  Salle  wished  to  return, 
Beaujeu  refused,  and  persisted  in  sailing  to  the  west,  till  they 
reached  the  Bay  of  Matagorda,  where  La  Salle  resolved  to 
disembark  and  search  for  the  mouth  of  his  river  Colbert. 
Having  landed  his  men,  his  storeship  was  unfortunately 
wrecked  on  entering  the  harbour,  and  Beaujeu  cruelly  deserted 
him,  and  sailed  for  France  with  the  remainder  of  the  ships, 
leaving  on  the  beach  of  Matagorda  the  devoted  La  Sallo 
with  two  hundred  and  thirty  followers,  crowded  in  a  fort  has 
tily  constructed  of  the  fragments  of  their  stranded  vessel.  Not 
despairing,  La  Salle  selected  a  beautiful  site  for  a  fort  and 
town,  which  he  named  St.  Louis ;  and  this  is  the  settlement 
which  made  Texas  a  part  of  Louisiana.2 

After  various  and  fruitless  searches  for  the  Mississippi,  La 
Salle,  in  1685,  proposed  to  seek  it  in  canoes,  and  after  four 
months'  absence,  he  returned,  having  failed  to  find  the  fatal 
river.  In  April,  1686,  he  turned  his  steps  toward  New  Mex 
ico,  with  twenty  companions,  in  hopes  to  discover  the  rich 
mines  of  St.  Barbe,  the  El  Dorado  of  Northern  Mexico.3 
Returning  once  more,  he  found  his  little  colony  reduced  to 
about  forty,  and  he  then  resolved  to  travel  on  foot  to  Illinois 
and  Canada,  and  return  to  renew  his  colony  in  Texas.  Ac 
cordingly,  on  January  12th,  1687,  La  Salle  departed  with  six 
teen  men  for  Canada,  having  left  his  fort  and  settlement 
in  the  command  of  the  Sieur  Barbier,  with  whom  remained 
nineteen  others,  including  seven  women,  or  maids,  and  three 
priests,  the  Sieur  Barbier  alone  being  married.4  The  explo 
rers  passed  the  basin  of  Colorado,  and  had  reached  a  branch 
of  Trinity  river ;  there,  on  the  20th  of  March,  1687,  the  en 
terprising,  daring,  and  unfortunate  La  Salle  was  assassinated 

'See  Joutel,  ed.  1719,  p.  19. 

2  Bancroft,  vol.  iii.  passim,  and  Charlevoix,  Nouy.  France,  vol.  iii.  Urre  13. 
Joutel,  ed.  1719,  p.  45. 

3  Ibid,  p.  68,  74.  <Ibid,  p.  77. 


NEW  FRANCE   AND   LOUISIANA.  43 

by  three  of  his  own  men.  These  conspirators  had  previously, 
on  the  17th  of  March,  murdered  Moranget,  the  nephew  of 
La  Salle,  and  two  other  men.  The  absence  of  these  persona 
induced  La  Salle  to  go  in  search  of  them,  and  having  reached 
the  spot  near  which  lay  their  dead  bodies,  he  was  shot  by  the 
concealed  assassins.  Father  Anastasius,  who  was  with  him, 
expected  the  same  fate,  but  he  was  spared,  and  detailed  the 
facts  of  the  murder  to  Joutel,1  who  afterward  became  the  ac 
curate  historian  of  the  expedition.  Joutel,  together  with  the 
brother  and  surviving  nephew  of  La  Salle  and  others,  in  all 
but  seven,  obtained  a  guide  from  the  Cenis  Indians  to  the 
Arkansas,  whence  they  reached  the  country  above  Red  River, 
and  at  length,  on  the  20th  of  July,  1687,  came  to  the  Missis 
sippi,  where,  to  their  great  joy,  they  discovered  a  large  cross 
erected,  and  a  house  built  after  the  French  fashion.  Here 
they  found  two  Frenchmen,  who  informed  them  "  that  they 
had  been  six,  sent  by  Monsieur  Tonti,  when  he  returned  from 
the  voyage  he  had  made  down  the  Colbert  or  Mississippi  River, 
pursuant  to  the  orders  sent  him  by  the  late  Monsieur  De  la 
Salle  at  his  departure  from  France ;  and  that  the  said  Sieur 
Tonti  had  commanded  them  to  build  the  aforesaid  house. 
That,  having  never  since  received  any  news  from  the  said 
Monsieur  De  la  Salle,  four  of  them  were  gone  back  to  Mon 
sieur  Tonti  at  the  fort  of  the  Illinois."  2  Joutel  and  his  com 
panions  returned  by  Fort  Crevecoeur  to  Quebec. 

Thus  perished  the  father  of  French  settlement  in  the  Val 
ley  of  the  Mississippi.  His  able  biographer  says  truly  of  him, 
"Not  a  hint  appears  in  any  writer  that  has  come  under  our 
notice,  which  casts  a  shade  upon  his  integrity  or  honour.  Cool 
and  intrepid  at  all  times,  never  yielding  for  a  moment  to 
despair,  or  even  to  despondency,  he  bore  the  heavy  burden 
of  his  calamities  to  the  end,  and  his  hopes  expired  only  with 
his  last  breath.  To  him  must  be  mainly  ascribed  the  disco 
very  of  the  vast  regions  of  the  Mississippi  Valley,  and  the 
subsequent  occupation  and  settlement  of  them  by  the  French; 

» Joutel,  ed.  1719,  p.  99.  «Ibid.  p.  152, 153. 


44  HISTORY   OF   WISCONSIN. 

and  his  name  justly  holds  a  prominent  place  among  those 
•which  adorn  the  history  of  civilization  in  the  New  World."1 

There  were  not  wanting  those,  in  his  lifetime,  who  employed 
means  to  destroy  his  usefulness,  to  impede  his  efforts,  and  to 
decry  his  merits.  After  his  death,  Hennepin,  who  was  one- 
of  his  followers,  and  under  his  command,  basely  attempted  to 
rob  him  of  the  reputation  justly  attached  to  his  discoveries  ; 
and  yet,  it  cannot  be  denied,  that  in  his  last  expedition  to 
discover  the  mouth  of  the  Mississippi  by  sea,  other  motives 
than  that  of  mere  colonization  may  have  acted  on  the  zeal 
of  De  la  Salle.  In  his  "Memoir  on  the  Necessity  of  fitting 
out  an  Expedition  to  take  possession  of  Louisiana,"  and  also 
in  his  "  Report  to  Monsiegneur  De  Seignelay,  of  the  dis 
coveries  made  by  Sieur  De  la  Salle,  under  the  order  of  his 
Majesty,"  he  urges  the  richness  of  the  silver  mines  of  St. 
Barbe,  in  New  Mexico,  and  the  facility  of  obtaining  an  armed 
possession  of  them,  as  powerful  inducements  for  encouraging 
all  his  projected  undertakings.2  If  Hennepin  may  in  this 
matter  be  believed,  he  had  spoken  to  him  on  the  same  subject 
previous  to  their  leaving  Canada,  and  it  is  certain  that  he 
made  one  attempt  to  search  for  them  after  his  landing  in 
Texas.  There  is  no  doubt  that  De  la  Salle  believed  himself 
to  be  west  of  the  mouth  of  the  Mississippi;  yet,  from  Joutel's 
account  of  his  various  journeyings,  they  appear  to  have  been 
more  to  the  north  and  north-west,  than  to  the  east ;  it  also 
appears  that  he  was  approaching  nearer  to  the  Spaniards, 
and  certainly  he  could  have  obtained  some  correct  informa 
tion  on  the  subject  from  the  Cenis  Indians.  Charlevoix  is  of 
this  opinion,  and  very  harshly  says,  that  "La  Salle  finding 
himself  shipwrecked  in  the  Bay  of  St.  Bernard,  and  having 
quickly  discovered  that  he  was  west  of  the  river  he  was  seek 
ing,  if  he  had  no  other  design  but  to  find  it,  he  could  have 
obtained  guides  from  the  Cenis,  as  Joutel  did  afterward ;  but 
he  desired  to  approach  the  Spanish  settlements  to  take  ob 
servations  respecting  the  mines  of  St.  Barbe,  and  wishing  to 

1  Sparks.  2  See  French's  Hist.  Collections  of  Louisiana. 


NEW   FRANCE   AND  LOUISIANA.  45 

do  too  much,  he  not  only  did  nothing,  but  destroyed  himself, 
and  was  pitied  by  no  one."1  (NOTE  D.) 

To  Louis  Ilennepin  belongs  the  credit  of  having  been  the 
first  European  who  ascended  the  river  Mississippi  above  the 
mouth  of  the  Wisconsin.  In  1679  he  had  accompanied  De  la 
Salle  from  Fort  Froritenac,  on  his  intended  journey  of  western 
discovery,  and  had  witnessed  the  building  of  the  ill-fated  «  Grif 
fin,"  sailed  in  her  to  Michillimackinac,  and  afterward  had 
coasted  Lake  Michigan,  ascended  the  St.  Joseph's,  crossed 
the  Kankakee  Swamps,  and  descended  the  Illinois  River  in 
canoes,  with  La  Salle  and  his  companions.  After  the  erection 
of  Fort  Crevecoeur,  La  Salle,  in  order  to  commence  his  dis 
coveries,  immediately  detached  one  of  his  men  named  Dacan, 
with  Father  Ilennepin,  with  instructions  to  ascend  the  Mis 
sissippi  above  the  Illinois  River,  and,  if  possible,  to  proceed 
to  its  source.  These  two  voyagers  left  Fort  Crevecoeur  on 
the  28th  of  February,  1680,  and  having  entered  the  Missis 
sippi,  ascended  it  until  near  the  forty-sixth  degree  of  north 
latitude,  where  they  were  stopped  by  a  high  fall  of  water,  which 
extended  the  whole  width  of  the  river,  and  to  which  Father  Hen- 
nepin  gave  the  name  of  the  Falls  of  St.  Anthony  of  Padua. 
Here  they  fell  into  the  hands  of  the  Sioux,  who  detained  them 
a  considerable  time  as  prisoners,  but  did  not  maltreat  them, 
and  they  were  afterward  relieved  by  Frenchmen  arrived  from 
Canada.2 

This  outline  of  Hennepin's  discovery  is  taken  from  Char- 
levoix,  who  placed  very  little  credit  in  the  narrations  of  the 
discoverer  ;  and,  indeed,  when  the  two  accounts  of  Henne 
pin's  adventures  on  this  voyage,  as  they  have  been  related  by 
himself,  and  published,  the  one  in  France  in  1684,  and  the 
other  in  England  in  1698,  are  compared  together,  and  their 
contradictions  noted,  the  charge  of  gross  mendacity  and  base 
imposture  will  not  be  considered  as  improperly  applied  to  him. 

According  to  Hennepin's  account  of  Louisiana,  "printed 
at  Paris,  in  1684,"  the  party,  consisting  of  Anthony  Auguel, 

'Charlevoix;  Nouvelle  Frauce,  torn.  iii.  59,  GO. 
2  Idem,  torn.  ii.  270. 


46  HISTORY  OF   WISCONSIN. 

Burnamed  the  Picard  du  Gay,  Michel  Ako,  and  himself,  pro 
ceeded  to  fulfil  the  instructions  of  La  Salle,  and  ascended  the 
Mississippi,  from  the  mouth  of  the  Illinois  River,  which  they 
left  in  the  beginning  of  March,  1680,  having  left  Fort  Creve- 
coeur  on  the  29th  of  February.  On  the  12th  of  April,  when 
they  had  got  about  one  hundred  and  fifty  leagues  up  the  river, 
from  that  of  the  Illinois,  they  were  taken  prisoners  by  the 
Sioux,  and  carried  two  hundred  and  fifty  leagues  further  up 
the  Mississippi,  where  they  remained  at  Issati,  on  the  St. 
Francis  River,  (or  at  Lake  St.  Francis,)  until  September,  when 
they  were  liberated  by  a  Canadian  trader  named  St.  Luth, 
and  that  they  returned  to  Quebec  by  ascending  the  Wisconsin 
River,  crossing  the  portage,  and  descending  the  Fox  River  to 
Green  Bay.1 

Thus  far,  perhaps,  Hennepin's  account  of  his  voyage  up 
the  river  Mississippi  may  be  relied  on  as  correct,  deducting 
therefrom  many  gross  exaggerations  ;  such  as  his  stating  that 
the  Falls  of  St.  Anthony  are  from  fifty  to  sixty  feet  in  height, 
and  his  speaking  with  confidence  of  rivers,  lakes,  and  even  the 
source  of  the  Mississippi,  and  of  distances  between  the  mouths 
of  rivers  flowing  into  it ;  but  in  many  important  matters,  for  the 
first  time  made  known  to  the  world,  he  may  be  believed ;  he 
is  the  first  writer  who  calls  the  Mescousin  of  Marquette  the 
Wisconsin. 

The  pretended  claims  of  his  voyage  of  discovery  to  the  mouth 
of  the  Mississippi,  and  his  bold  attempt  to  rob  De  la  Salle  of 
his  merited  honours,  have  been  often  successfully  refuted  and 
exposed.  Fourteen  years  after  the  "  Account  of  Louisiana" 
was  published  by  order  of  the  King  of  France,  Hennepin, 
having  become  in  1698  a  sycophant  of  the  King  of  England, 
gave  to  the  world  his  "New  Discovery,"  together  with  a  second 
part,  or  "  Continuation  of  the  New  Discovery,  giving  an  ac 
count  of  the  attempts  of  the  Sieur  De  la  Salle  upon  the  mines 
of  St.  Barbe,"  &c.  These  books  were  both  dedicated  to  King 

1  Hennepin's  New  Discovery,  edition  1698,  p.  89,  108,  111,  145,  193,  et 
passim. 


NEW   FRANCE   AND   LOUISIANA.  47 

William  III.  and  as  they  contained  many  things  of  which 
Hennepin  had  not  previously  spoken  in  his  first  account,  he 
makes  several  strange  apologies  in  his  prefaces  to  his  latter 
volumes,  to  excuse  and  account  for  the  omissions  in  the  former  j 
the  principal  of  which  is,  that  he  would,  by  mentioning  his 
discovery  of  the  mouth  of  the  Mississippi,  incur  the  enmity  of 
Monsieur  De  la  Salle.1  His  fabrications  and  interlopations 
consist,  in  part,  in  his  stating  that  when  he  was  at  the  mouth 
of  the  Illinois  River,  in  March,  1680,  he  descended  the  Mis 
sissippi  instead  of  ascending  it,  to  explore  the  country  of  the 
Sioux,  as  he  had  been  directed  by  La  Salle,  according  to  his 
own  account,  and  also  by  the  testimony  of  the  Chevalier  Tonti, 
as  given  in  his  memoir  to  the  King  of  France,  made  in  1693. 
It  may  be  remarked  on  the  falsities  of  Hennepin,  that  so  far 
as  they  bear  on  his  pretended  discovery  of  the  lower  Mississippi, 
they  may  have  been  intended  as  the  foundation  of  a  claim,  on 
the  part  of  England,  to  Louisiana  and  the  whole  Valley  of  the 
Mississippi.  His  work  is  dedicated  to  the  English  king,  and 
his  protection  as  a  warlike  sovereign  invoked  for  the  newly 
discovered  country.  It  is  an  historical  fact,  that  in  Septem 
ber,  1699,  vessels  of  war  were  sent  by  England  to  the  Gulf 
of  Mexico,  to  take  possession  of  the  country,  under  pretext 
and  declaration  that  the  whole  south  belonged  to  that  power. 
In  the  same  year  an  attempt  was  made  by  William  III.  to 
colonize  Louisiana  by  French  refugees,  arid  to  take  possession 
of  the  Mississippi;  and  to  the  same  effect  the  private  enter 
prise  of  Coxe,  of  New  Jersey,  to  colonize  "  Carolana"  was  en 
couraged  by  the  king  in  council.  It  is  true  that  the  English 
vessels  returned,  when  they  found  that  the  prior  claims  of 
France  were  not  only  asserted,  but  would  be  defended,  and 
the  attempts  at  colonization  altogether  failed  ;  but  it  was  then 
understood  that  it  was  on  the  information  contained  in,  and 
the  supposed  authenticity  of  Father  Hennepin's  books,  that 
such  assumption  of  claim  and  attempts  to  colonize,  on  the  part 
of  England  were  made,  although  unsuccessfully.2 

JNew  Discovery,  edition  of  1698. 

2  Charlevoix,  Nouv.  France,  torn.  iii.  384-6. 


48  HISTORY   OF  WISCONSIN. 

Tims,  at  the  close  of  the  17th  century,  France,  in  right  of  oc 
cupancy  and  discovery,  claimed  not  only  New  France  and  Aca- 
dia,  Hudson's  Bay  and  Newfoundland,  but  also  a  moiety  of 
Maine  of  Vermont,  and  more  than  a  moiety  of  New  York,  to 
gether  with  the  whole  Valley  of  the  Mississippi,  including  Texas 
as  far  as  the  Rio  Bravo  del  Norte.  Throughout  that  wide  region 
it  sought  to  introduce  its  authority  under  the  severest  forms  of 
the  colonial  system,  and  that  system  was  enforced  with  equal 
eagerness  on  the  sea-coast  by  England.  Previous  to  the  war 
declared  by  France  against  England  in  1689,  the  strife  in  the 
colonies,  was,  on  behalf  of  their  respective  mother  countries,  for 
the  fisheries,  for  territory  at  the  north  and  west,  and  for  the 
possession  of  colonial  monopolies.  It  has  been  truly  said,  that 
the  religious  faith  and  roving  enterprise  of  the  French  Cana 
dians  secured  to  Louis  XIV.  their  active  support ;  on  the 
other  hand,  the  English  colonists  sided  heartily  with  Eng 
land ;  the  English  revolution  of  1688  was  to  them  the  pledge 
for  freedom  of  mind,  as  marked  by  Protestantism  ;  for  national 
freedom  as  illustrated  in  the  exile  of  a  tyrant,  and  in  the  elec 
tion  of  a  constitutional  king.  At  this  period  the  two  principal 
posts  west  of  Fort  Frontenac  were  at  Mackinaw  and  on  the 
Illinois  ;  but  the  garrisons  were  so  weak,  that  English  traders 
•with  an  escort  of  Indians  had  ventured  even  to  Mackinaw, 
and  had  obtained  a  large  share  of  the  commerce  of  the  lakes. 
French  diplomacy  had  failed  in  the  attempt  to  effect  an  alli 
ance  with  all  the  Indian  tribes,  from  Lake  Ontario  to  the 
Mississippi,  as  projected  in  1687.  The  keys  of  the  great 
West  were  still  held  by  the  savages,  and  no  intercourse  existed 
but  by  means  of  the  traders,  who  were  found  in  every  forest 
where  there  was  an  Indian  with  skins  to  sell.  In  1688,  had 
it  not  been  for  the  missions  at  the  West,  Illinois  would  have 
been  abandoned,  the  fort  at  Mackinaw  lost,  and  a  general 
rising  of  the  natives  would  have  completed  the  ruin  of  New 
France.1 

1  Bancroft,  vol.  iii.  175-8. 


NEW   FRANCE   AND  LOUISIANA.  49 

Notwithstanding  all  the  reverses  of  war,  France,  by  the 
peace  of  Ryswick,  in  1697,  retained  in  America  all  Hudson's 
Bay,  and  all  the  places  of  which  she  was  in  possession  at 
the  beginning  of  the  war ;  in  other  words,  with  the  exception 
of  the  eastern  moiety  of  Newfoundland,  France  retained  the 
•whole  coast  and  adjacent  islands,  from  Maine  to  beyond 
Labrador  and  Hudson's  Bay,  besides  Canada  and  the  Valley 
of  the  Mississippi.  But  the  boundary  lines  were  reserved 
for  wrangling  among  commissioners.1  At  this  period,  of  all 
the  portions  of  New  France,  no  one  more  occupied  the  minds 
of  the  ministry  than  Louisiana.  Since  the  unfortunate  attempt 
of  De  la  Salle  to  enter  the  Mississippi  by  sea,  the  project  ap 
peared  to  have  been  renounced.  At  length,  in  1697,  M. 
D'Iberville  aroused  the  attention  of  the  ministry  on  this  point, 
and  inspired  the  Count  de  Pontchar train  with  the  design  of 
constructing  a  fort  at  the  entrance  of  the  Great  River,  which 
this  officer  promised  himself  to  discover. 

Two  vessels  were  fitted  out  for  this  purpose,  the  command 
of  one  of  which  was  given  to  the  Marquis  Chateaumorand,  the 
other  to  Iberville,  and  they  sailed  in  October,  1698.  In  Jan 
uary,  1699,  they  touched  at  Pensacola,  then  in  the  occupancy 
of  three  hundred  Spaniards.  Having  passed  the  rnouth  of 
the  Mobile,  landed  on  an  isle  which  he  called  Massacre  Island, 
(since  called  Dauphin  Island,)  Iberville  went  on  the  main 
land,  and  having  discovered  the  river  Pascagoulas,  where  he 
met  with  a  number  of  savages,  he  departed  in  barges  with  his 
brothers,  De  Bienville,  and  the  Sieur  De  Sauvole,  a  Recollect 
friar,  forty-eight  men,  besides  two  Biscayens,  and  provisions 
for  twenty  days,  with  the  design  of  searching  for  the  Missis 
sippi,  of  which  the  savages  had  spoken  to  him  under  the  name 
of  "  Malbouchia,"  and  the  Spaniards  by  that  of  "thePalli- 
Bade."2  He  at  length  entered  it  on  the  second  of  March, 
which  was  Quinquagesima  Monday,  and  found  that  the  name 
given  by  the  Spaniards  well  suited  it,  for  its  mouth  actually 

'Bancroft,  vol.  iii.  192.  2ROW  of  trees. 

VOL.  I.— 4 


50  HISTORY   OF   WISCONSIN. 

bristled  with  trees  which  the  current  incessantly  dragged 
into  it.1 

After  having  well  reconnoitred  this  long-sought  entrance, 
he  made  known  his  discovery  to  M.  Chateaumorand,  who  re 
turned  to  St.  Domingo ;  and  Iberville,  as  soon  as  he  was  pre 
pared,  ascended  the  river  as  far  as  Bayagoulas,  where  a  letter 
was  sent  to  him  by  an  Indian  chief,  which  proved  to  be  from 
the  Chevalier  Tonti,  and  was  directed  to  M.  De  la  Salle,  Go 
vernor  of  Louisiana.  The  letter  commenced  thus  :  "  From  the 
village  of  Quinipissas,2  this  twentieth  of  April,  1685.  Sir : 
Having  found  the  posts  on  which  you  had  set  up  the  king's 
arms  thrown  down  by  the  drift  wood,  I  caused  another  one 
to  be  fixed  on  this  side,  about  seven  leagues  from  the  sea, 
where  I  have  left  a  letter  in  a  tree  by  the  side  of  it.  All  the 
nations  have  smoked  the  calumet  with  me ;  they  are  people 
who  fear  us  exceedingly,  since  you  had  captured  this  village. 
I  conclude  in  saying,  that  it  is  a  great  grief  to  me  that  we 
shall  return  with  the  ill  fortune  of  not  having  found  you, 
after  we  had  coasted  with  two  canoes  thirty  leagues  on  the 
Mexican  side,  and  twenty-five  on  that  of  Florida." 

Reassured  by  this  letter  that  he  was  on  the  Great  River, 
Iberville  returned  to  the  Bay  of  Biloxi,  situate  between  the 
Mississippi  and  the  Mobile — built  a  fort  there,  three  leagues 
from  Pascagoulas — left  M.  de  Sauvole  in  command,  with 
Bienville  as  his  lieutenant,  and  returned  to  France.3 

Thus  the  possession  of  the  newly-discovered  river  and  ad 
jacent  country  was  taken  by  France,  according  to  the  ac 
knowledged  legal  custom  of  nations.  Charlevoix  quaintly 
remarks  that  Spain  had  made  no  settlement ;  for  although 
Ferdinand  de  Soto  had  crossed  the  Mississippi  more  than 
once,  and  was  even  cast  into  it  after  his  death,  yet  he  had 
made  no  establishment.4'  In  virtue  of  the  discovery  of  Florida, 
Spain  had  claimed  the  whole  country,  from  the  Gulf  of  Mex 
ico  to  the  great  lakes  and  the  remote  north ;  under  the  dis- 


1  Charlevoix,  torn.  iii.  377-8,  381.         -  Bayagoulas  and  Montgoulatches. 
s  Idem,  torn.  iii.  381-4.  J  Charlevoix,  torn.  iii.  277,  (in  note.) 


NEW  FRANCE   AND   LOUISIANA.  5$ 

coveries  of  Marquette  and  De  la  Salle,  the  religious  establish 
ments  of  the  missionaries,  Jesuits,  and  Recollects,  and  the 
occupancy  of  a  few  military  posts,  France  claimed  the  entire 
basin  of  the  Mississippi,  by  the  name  of  Louisiana,  the  govern 
ment  of  which  was  declared,  by  a  royal  edict,  to  be  subordi 
nate  to,  and  dependent  on  the  government  of  New  France^ 
(NOTE  E.) 


CHAPTER  IL 

VALLEY   OF   THE   MISSISSIPPI. 

Uettlement  by  Iberville — Progress  of  the  French  in  Settlements  from  th« 
8t.  Lawrence  to  the  Mississippi  Valley — Kaskaskia,  Peoria — Fathers 
Gravier  and  Marest,  Montigny  and  Davion — Religious  zeal  and  com 
mercial  enterprise — Views  of  La  Salle  with  respect  to  the  Illinois  coun 
try — Communication  between  Quebec  and  the  Gulf  of  Mexico — Jealousy, 
and  claim  of  England — Exploring  Expedition  on  part  of  England — Ex 
plorations  by  Bienville  and  Sauvole — Application  of  French  Protestant 
emigrants — Bienville  prevents  the  English  from  taking  possession  of  the 
Mississippi — Belief  still  entertained  of  the  route  by  water  to  the  South 
Sea — Also  of  the  existence  of  gold  and  silver  mines,  &c.,  in  the  country — 
French  views  not  agricultural — Le  Sueur  on  the  Upper  Mississippi. — Fal 
lacious  views  as  to  the  natural  productions  of  the  country — Baron  La 
Houtan,  his  travels  and  discoveries — Mixture  of  the  true,  and  the  roman 
tic  and  fabulous — The  Illinois  country,  its  extent — The  Five  Nations,  their 
relations  to  France  and  England — Grand  Council  called  by  De  CaUieres — 
The  post  and  settlement  of  Detroit  founded — Other  posts  growing  up,  in  the 
"West — Allies  of  the  English  in  Wisconsin — Attempt  on  Detroit — Trade  of 
the  West — Armed  occupation  by  France  of  the  Mississippi  Valley — Forts 
Chnrtres,  Cahokia,  Prairie  da  llocher,  Kaskaskia — Treaty  of  Utrecht,  its 
want  of  effect — Unsettled  questions  of  boundaries — Localities  of  the  Indian 
tribes— The  Indians  of  the  North-West — Colony  at  the  mouth  of  the  Mis 
sissippi — Its  neglect  of  agriculture  and  wild  speculations — Le  Sueur's 
copper  mine  on  Blue  Earth  River — Louisiana  made  a  government  indepen 
dent  of  New  France — Change  in  the  political  system  of  the  colony — Un 
successful  attempts  of  France  to  colonize — Boundaries  of  Louisiana — Rio 
del  Norte — Crozat's  Patent — Mississippi  Scheme — Slavery  authorized  in 
'Crozat's  monopoly — Population  of  Louisiana — 111  success  of  Crozat — His 
losses  ;  surrenders  his  patent — Delusive  hopes  of  wealth,  in  France — 
Wretched  state  of  the  French  Public  Treasury — John  Law  proposes  re 
lief — Paper  currency  as  a  substitute  for  precious  metals — Law's  Bank 
established — Its  operations — Declared  a  royal  bank — Becomes  a  commer 
cial  company — Great  powers  granted  to  the  "Mississippi  Company" — 
Bank  of  France  associated  with  it — Company  of  the  Indies — Monopolies 
.granted  to  it— The  Mint,  and  Taxes  of  the  nation  farmed  by  it— Law, 


VALLEY   OF   THE   MISSISSIPPI.  53 

Comptroller  General  of  Franco — Emigrants  to  Louisiana,  their  character — 
Routes  from  the  St.  Lawrence  to  the  Lower  Mississippi — The  great  bub 
bles  burst — Consequences  extend  to  the  settlements  of  the  Mississippi 
Valley— Similarity  of  Credit  System  of  1719  and  1834 — Delusion  as  to  the 
mineral  wealth  continues — Mining  on  the  Upper  Mississippi — War  be 
tween  France  and  Spain — Chain  of  forts  established  on  the  Mississippi — 
Site  of  New  Orleans  selected — Le  Sueui-'s  fort  on  St.  Peter's  River — He 
takes  possession  of  the  upper  country — Fort  Chartres  built — Population 
of  the  Illinois  country — Posts  of  Miclullimackinac,  Green  Bay,  Chicago, 
St.  Joseph's,  Sault  St.  Marie,  and  Detroit — English  and  French  trade  with 
the  Indians — Influence  of  France  unbounded  over  the  Indians,  except  the 
Iroquois — The  Five  Nations — Ottagamies  adhere  to  the  English — Attempt 
to  destroy  Detroit — Siege  of  Detroit — Defeat  and  great  loss  of  the  Otta 
gamies — Their  hostilities  and  depredations — French  expedition  against 
them  under  Louvigny — Stronghold  at  Butte  des  Morts — The  Foxes  capi 
tulate — Hostages  delivered — Treaty  not  complied  with  by  the  Foxes — 
They  renew  their  depredations — Expedition  under  De  Lignerie  unsuccess 
ful — Progress  of  settlements  in  the  West — Villages  in  the  Illinois  coun 
try — The  Natchez  nation,  their  destruction — The  "Company  of  the  In 
dies"  surrenders  its  charter — War  against  the  Chickasaws — Artaguette 
and  Vincennes — Their  death — Situation  of  the  Illinois  country — Ambitious 
views  of  France  as  to  the  Great  West — Resisted  by  the  English  colonies — 
George  Washington — His  mission  to  the  French  commander — First  signal 
of  the  war  of  the  Revolution — Death  of  Jumonville — Washington  capitu 
lates — France  in  possession  of  the  whole  Valley  of  the  Mississippi — Eng 
lish  and  French  encroachments,  although  with  the  same  intent,  not  so  re 
garded  by  the  Indians — Peace  in  Europe,  but  war  in  America — Boundaries 
between  English  and  French  possessions  the  cause — War  of  1750 — Brad- 
dock's  defeat;  Wolfe's  victory  ;  surrender  of  all  Canada — Disaffection  of 
the  Indians — Rogers  takes  possession  of  Detroit,  and  other  western  posts — 
Pontiac — He  orders  Rogers  to  stop  in  his  march — Protects  him  on  condi 
tion — French  power  in  the  West  forever  overthrown — Feelings  against  the 
English — Henry,  the  English  trader — His  interview  with  an  Indian  chief — 
Attachment  of  the  Indians  to  the  French;  its  causes — State  of  settlements 
in  Wisconsin — Carver's  account — Prairie  du  Chien — No  establishments 
west  of  Greenbay — Traders  alone  in  the  country — Sacs  and  Foxes,  their 
depredations  and  chastisement — Expeditions  against  them — Lake  Su 
perior,  settlements  there — Ancient  mines — Indications  of  ancient  work* 

THE  establishment  of  Iberville  was  the  foundation  of  the 
Commonwealth  of  Mississippi.  Although  immediate  pros 
perity  was  highly  improbable  to  the  infant  settlement,  having 
the  Spaniards  on  its  flank,  and  the  Indian  tribes  around,  with. 


54  HISTORY  OF   WISCONSIN. 

an  untillable  sand  for  soil,  and  a  burning  sun  that  caused  the 
emigrants  to  sigh  for  the  cool  breezes  of  Hudson's  Bay,1  yet 
gleams  of  light  shone  upon  them.  The  whites  from  Carolina, 
allies  of  the  Chickasaws,  invaded  the  neighbouring  tribes  of 
Indians,  making  it  easy  for  the  French  to  establish  alliances. 
Nearly  a  century  had  elapsed  since  Samuel  Champlain,  a  bold 
And  adventurous  mariner,  following  in  the  footsteps  of  Jacques 
Oartier  and  La  Roche  de  Robertval,  had  ascended  the  St. 
Lawrence,  as  far  as  the  Isle  of  Orleans,  and  established  his 
little  colony,  having  founded  Quebec  in  1680,  and  Montreal  in 
1613.  In  1615,  Champlain  had  explored  Lake  Huron  by  way 
of  the  Ottawa  River,  and  although  France  had  been  too  much 
involved  in  war  to  make  explorations  in  distant  regions,  yet 
we  have  seen  that  the  zealous  labours  of  the  Jesuit  fathers 
-and  other  missionaries  had  opened  to  the  world  new  fields  of 
commerce,  and  were  rapidly  spreading  civilization  and  religion 
in  the  valley  of  the  Mississippi.  Before  the  year  1700,  Kas- 
kaskia  had  been  founded  ;  missionary  stations  had  been  formed 
and  had  grown  into  parishes ;  the  labours  of  Fathers  Gravier 
and  Marest,  in  Illinois,  had  established  many  flocks  of  con 
verted  Indians,  particularly  one  near  Lake  Peoria.  The  Fa 
thers  Montigny  and  Davion  had  visited  the  Yazoo  and  Tansas  ; 
and  missionaries  had  penetrated  west  of  the  Mississippi,  and 
as  far  south  as  Red  River ;  St.  Come  had  also  established  a 
mission  among  the  Natchez  Indians,  and  in  fine  the  spirit  of 
religious  zeal,  and  of  commercial  enterprise,  was  effectually 
aroused  in  relation  to  the  Mississippi  Valley,  at  the  close  of  the 
seventeenth  century. 

Previous  to  the  discovery  of  the  Mississippi,  the  Illinois 
were  scarcely  known  in  Canada ;  Marquette  and  Joilet,  in  de 
scending  that  river,  had  passed  by  some  of  their  villages,  and 
had  been  well  received  there ;  the  former  had  projected  until 
Iris  death  to  ..establish  himself  among  them.  La  Salle,  in  pre 
paring  to  complete  the  discovery  made  by  that  missionary, 
thought  of  making  settlements  among  the  Miauris  and  Illinois, 

'Bancroft,  vol.  iii.  201. 


VALLEY   OF   THE   MISSISSIPPI.  5$ 

would  serve  as  deposits  for  his  commerce.  He  had 
taken  with  him  several  Recollect  fathers,  and  it  was  his  design 
that  they  should  form  missions  among  the  Illinois ;  but  they 
were  too  much  occupied  with  the  excursions  which  La  Salle 
made  them  undertake,  to  make  proselytes  among  the  savages, 
and  they  left  the  country  without  having  effected  any  thing  in 
that  way,  believing  that  commerce  and  religion  do  not  flourish 
together.  The  death  of  La  Salle,  and  other  disastrous  events, 
had  scattered  the  French  who  were  established  among  the  Il 
linois,  until  Father  Gravier,  judging  the  time  was  now  favour 
able  to  labour  for  the  salvation  of  this  nation,  fixed  his  resi 
dence  at  Rockfort,  the  same  place  where  fort  St.  Louis  had 
been.  In  a  short  time  he  assembled  there  a  considerably 
numerous  flock,  and  soon  had  the  consolation  to  see  among  the 
savages,  so  justly  reprobated,  until  then,  for  corruption  of 
manners,  a  renewal  of  as  great  examples  of  virtue  as  had  been 
admired  in  the  most  flourishing  missions  of  Canada.1  Juche- 
reau  and  Mermet  had  less  success  among  the  Mascoutens,  and 
at  the  mouth  of  the  Wabash. 

At  this  period,  then,  we  find  that  a  line  of  communication 
existed  between  Quebec  and  the  Gulf  of  Mexico,  where  the 
court  of  France  were  taking  measures  to  make  a  considerable 
establishment.  The  jealousy  of  England  was  particularly 
aroused  by  the  success  of  the  enterprise  of  Iberville,  and  a 
claim  on  the  part  of  that  nation  to  the  discovery  of  the  Missis 
sippi  was  attempted  to  be  set  up,  in  consequence  of  the  im 
pudent  falsehoods  of  Hennepin,  as  interpolated  in  the  new  edi 
tion  of  his  work,  now  just  published  at  London,  under  the 
auspices  of  his  new  patron,  William  III.  To  give  effect  to  the 
pretended  claim  on  the  part  of  the  English,  an  exploring  ex 
pedition,  under  the  direction  of  Coxe,  a  proprietor  of  New 
Jersey,  was  fitted  out  for  the  mouths  of  the  Mississippi,  and 
a  naval  force  was  also  sent  by  government  to  take  possession 
of  the  much-desired  country,  and  to  sound  the  passes  of  the 
majestic  stream.2 

1  Charlevoix,  torn.  iii.  392.  3  Bancroft,  vol.  iii.  202. 


56  HISTORY  OP  WISCONSIN. 

Bienville,  who,  together  with  Sauvole,  had  been  left  in 
command  of  the  fort  at  Biloxi  by  Ibcrville,  spent  some 
time  in  exploring  the  forks  below  the  present  site  of  New 
Orleans,  and  descended  the  river  on  the  16th  of  September, 
1699  ;  at  the  turn  of  a  point1  twenty-eight  leagues  from  tho 
sea,  he  found  in  the  river  an  English  frigate  of  sixteen  guns, 
commanded  by  Captain  Barr,  who  had  left  at  the  entrance  of 
the  river  a  frigate  of  the  same  force,  commanded  by  Mr. 
Clement.  His  design  was  to  reconnoitre  the  western  passage 
of  the  river,  and  then  to  return  to  Carolina,  where  an  arma 
ment  was  being  built,  of  four  Pinks,  and  several  other  vessels, 
to  convey  an  establishment  of  several  families  on  the  river. 
In  this  vessel  was  Mr.  Secon,  a  French  engineer,  a  ProtevStant 
in  religion,  who  privately  gave  M.  de  Bienville  a  petition  ad 
dressed  to  the  king,  by  which  he  assured  his  majesty,  that  if 
he  would  grant  liberty  of  conscience  in  the  colony,  more  than 
four  hundred  religious  families  would  emigrate  thither  from 
Carolina.  This  petition  was  in  the  end  sent  to  M.  De  Pont- 
chartrain,  who  replied,  that  the  king  had  not  driven  the  here 
tics  from  his  kingdom  to  form  a  republic  of  them.  The  Eng 
lish  captain  doubted  if  he  had  entered  the  Mississippi;  De 
Bienville,  willing  to  profit  by  his  uncertainty,  assured  him 
that  the  river  he  sought  was  more  to  the  west,  and  that  the 
river  he  was  in  was  a  dependence  on  Canada,  the  possession 
of  which  had  been  taken  by  his  most  Christian  majesty ;  and 
he  summoned  him  to  leave  it.  On  this  opposition,  the  cap 
tain,  whose  orders  were  to  discover  the  Mississippi,  took  the 
resolution  of  seeking  further  off  for  the  river.  By  this  runs 
De  Bienville  prevented  the  English  from  taking  possession  of 
the  river  and  establishing  themselves  there.2 

Independent  of  the  great  advantages  which  the  commercial 
world  would  derive  from  the  anticipated  wealth  of  the  natural 
productions  of  the  newly-discovered  country,  a  belief  was  still 
entertained,  which  had  been  advanced  by  Marquette,  and 
cherished  by  La  Salle,  that  some  of  the  western  tributaries 

1  Stoce  called  «  English  turn."  »La  Harpe,  Jour.  Hist  p.  lf>. 


VALLEY  OF   THE   MISSISSIPPI.  57 

of  the  great  river  "would  afford  a  direct  route  to  the  South  Sea, 
and  thence  to  China.  The  long  and  dangerous  voyage  around 
the  Cape  of  Good  Hope,  or  Cape  Horn,  might  be  avoided ; 
and  this  was  certainly  an  object  of  deep  concern,  and  of  im 
portant  interest  to  the  whole  commercial  world  ;  consequently 
this  subject  was  still  agitated  in  Europe,  and  the  solution  of 
the  question  most  anxiously  looked  for.1 

The  existence  of  mines  of  gold  and  silver,  and  even  the 
presence  of  diamonds  and  other  precious  stones  among  the 
rocks  and  gravel  of  the  land,  together  with  rich  pearls  in  the 
shell-fish  of  its  waters,  was  considered  as  a  matter  beyond  a 
doubt.  All  the  early  explorers  had  either  spoken  of  such  things 
as  being  known  to  them  as  true,  or  as  extremely  probable  from 
unmistakeable  indications.  As  to  the  minerals,  iron,  copper, 
lead,  &c.,  Marquette,  Hennepin,  La  Hontan,  Joutel,  and 
others,  had  already  given  their  actual  locations ;  Joutel  says, 
"There  is  no  reason  to  question  but  that  there  are  in  this  coun 
try,  mines  of  all  sorts  of  metals,  and  of  the  richest ;  the  cli 
mate  being  the  same  as  that  of  New  Mexico.  We  saw  several 
spots  where  it  appeared  there  were  iron-mines,  and  found  some 
pieces  of  it  in  the  bank  of  the  river,  which  nature  had  cleansed. 
Travellers  who  have  been  at  the  upper  part  of  the  Mississippi 
affirm  they  have  found  mines  there,  of  very  good  lead."2  Mar 
quette  writes,  "A  little  above  this  river  of  which  I  have  just 
spoken,  (Wabash,  or  Ohio,)  are  cliffs,  where  our  men  perceived 
an  iron-mine  which  they  deemed  very  rich;  there  are  many 
veins,  and  a  bed  a  foot  thick:  large  masses  are  found  com 
bined  with  pebbles."  3 

We  have  seen  that  the  petition  of  the  French  Protestants  to 
be  allowed,  under  French  sovereignty,  and  in  the  enjoyment 
of  religious  liberty,  to  plant  the  banks  of  the  Mississippi,  had 
been  rejected  by  the  French  minister ;  it  appears  that  the 


1  Early  conjectures  were  partially  right.  The  head  waters  of  the  Platte 
ftlmoet  interlock  with  the  head  waters  of  the  Colorado,  -which  flows  into 
the  Gulf  of  California,  or  Vermilion  Sea  of  Marquette. 

» Joutel,  p.  172.  3  Marquette,  sec.  viL 


58  HISTORY   OF   WISCONSIN. 

policy  of  France  was  less  directed  to  the  settlement  of  the 
country  for  the  peaceful  pursuits  of  agriculture,  than  to  its 
armed  occupation  by  fortresses,  and  its  exploration  for  pro 
ductive  mines,  the  searching  for  pearls,  and  even  the  expected 
lucrative  trade  in  the  wool  of  the  buifalo.  In  December,  1699, 
Iberville  returned  from  Europe  with  two  armed  vessels  and 
several  officers  for  garrisons,  accompanied  by  Mr.  Le  Sueur  and 
thirty  workmen,  to  explore  the  copper-mines  of  the  upper  Mis 
sissippi  and  other  natural  riches  of  the  country.1  The  ex 
pected  development  of  the  wealth  of  the  Mississippi  is  thus 
spoken  of  by  Charlevoix :  «  They  had  then  two  principal  objects 
in  this  commerce,  namely :  the  wool  which  they  could  gather 
from  the  buffalo,  and  the  pearl  fisheries.  Both  were  expressly 
marked  in  the  instructions  of  Monsieur  D'Iberville.  One  of 
the  great  objects,  said  they,  which  they  have  given  to  the  king 
when  they  engaged  him  to  make  the  discovery  of  the  mouth 
of  the  Mississippi,  has  been  the  gathering  of  the  wool  of  the 
buffalo ;  and  in  order  to  do  this,  it  is  necessary  to  domesticate 
these  animals,  to  enclose  them  in  parks,  and  to  transport  their 
young  ones  to  France.  Although  the  pearls  which  have  been 
presented  to  his  majesty  are  not  of  a  fine  water,  nor  of  a  beau 
tiful  form,  still  the  search  for  them  must  be  carried  on  with  care ; 
because  others  may  be  found,  and  his  majesty  desires  that  Mon 
sieur  D'Iberville  bring  over  as  many  of  them  as  he  can :  that 
he  assures  himself  of  the  places  where  the  fisheries  can  be  made, 
and  that  he  has  them  carried  on  in  his  presence."2 

Up  to  this  period  little  had  been  known  of  the  country  gene 
rally  termed  the  "Upper  Mississippi,"  except  from  the  ac 
counts  given  by  Marquette  and  Hennepin,  the  information 
communicated  by  Le  Sueur  respecting  the  copper-mines  on 
the  St.  Peter's  River,  and  the  romantic  statements  of  the 
Baron  La  Hontan  of  his  travels  through  that  region,  his  dis 
covery  and  exploration  of  the  "Long  River,"3  and  his  descrip- 


i  See  Note  A.  *  Charlevoix,  torn.  iii.  389. 

3  St.  Peter's  River,  or  Cannon  River,  as  supposed  by  Nicollet,  who  calls 
the  latter  "River  La  Hontan." 


VALLEY  OF   THE   MISSISSIPPI.  59 

tion  of  the  numerous  nations  spread  over  the  country.  Amid 
the  romance  of  the  baron,  some  truths  undoubtedly  appear  ; 
but  they  convey  information  which  was  even  at  that  time  com 
monly  known,  and  his  voyage  from  Green  Bay,  up  the  Fox 
River  to  the  portage,  and  down  the  Wisconsin  to  the  Missis 
sippi,  was  no  more  than  a  retrace  of  the  steps  of  Father  Mar- 
quette.  It  is  only  on  the  upper  Mississippi  and  on  the  Long 
River,  where  he  says  he  sailed  for  eighty  days  and  more,  and 
yet  had  not  reached  halfway  to  its  source ;  where  he  asserts 
that  he  discovered  extensive  nations  of  civilized  Indians,  and 
describes  their  cities,  their  manners,  customs,  and  commerce, 
that  the  baron  draws  deeply  on  our  credulity.  It  is  true  that 
he  may  have  been  up  the  Mississippi  as  far  as  St.  Peter's 
River,  but  it  is  somewhat  remarkable  that  he  does  not  speak 
of  "  Lake  Pepin,"  nor  of  the  "  Falls  of  St.  Anthony,"  two  such 
prominent  features  in  the  river.  It  is  more  than  probable 
that  the  romantic  accounts  which  he  has  given  in  his  work 
are  the  result  of  ill-interpreted  and  less  understood  informa 
tion  received  from  the  Indians,  respecting  the  rivers  of 
the  north-west,  and  the  country  west  of  the  Mississippi.  The 
descriptions  of  the  baron  are  not  wholly  untrue ;  in  all  his 
romance  we  find  glimpses  of  the  "  Red  River,"  of  "  M'Kenzie's 
River,"  of  the  "Rocky  Mountains,"  and  of  the  "Great  Salt 
Lake,"  as  now  known  to  us  ;  but  his  travels  and  adventures  as 
related  by  himself,  outrage  all  probability;  and  perhaps  his 
best  apology  may  be  found  in  his  desire  to  convey  some  in 
formation  to  his  countrymen,  and  at  the  same  time  have  his 
vanity  gratified  in  receiving  the  merit  of  an  original  discoverer 
of  strange  countries  and  of  stranger  nations.  (See  NOTE  B.) 
On  his  return  from  his  fabled  expedition  up  the  Long  River, 
La  Hontan  says  that  he  descended  the  Mississippi  as  far  as 
the  Ouabache,  (Ohio,)  and  on  his  route  met  with  a  body  of 
four  hundred  Akansas,  who  were  hunting  buffalo ;  they  re 
ceived  him  well.  He  re-ascended  the  Mississippi  to  the  Illi 
nois  River,  and  in  six  days  arrived  at  Fort  Crevecoeur  ;  Tonti 
was  in  command,  of  whom  he  speaks  in  terms  of  high  com 
mendation.  He  afterward  arrived  at  Che-ka-kou,  (Chicago,) 


(JO  HISTORY  OP  WISCONSIN. 

•where  bis  Outagamies  (Foxes)  left  him  to  return  home ;  and 
he  then  descended  the  Oumamis  (Miamis)  to  where  La  Salle 
had  some  years  previous  built  a  fort.  There  he  found  four 
hundred  Indian  warriors,  who  were  about  to  burn  three  Iro- 
quois  prisoners.  He  wished  to  save  them,  but  was  unable, 
and  could  with  difficulty  get  away  from  the  savages,  who 
wished  him  to  partake  of  their  festivities.1  He  then  coasted 
the  lake,  and  returned  to  Michillimackinac. 

For  a  long  series  of  years,  the  term  « Illinois  country"  em 
braced  all  the  region  east  of  the  upper  Mississippi  as  far  as 
Lake  Michigan,  and  from  the  Wisconsin  on  the  north,  to  the 
Ohio  on  the  south.  Mutual  confidence  and  friendship  con 
tinued  between  the  French  and  all  the  western  tribes,  and 
emigration  continued  to  advance  ;  yet,  in  the  year  1700, 
owing  to  the  inveterate  hostility  of  the  Five  Nations,  not 
a  French  settlement  existed  south  of  the  great  lakes,  from 
the  St.  Lawrence  to  the  Illinois  country  on  the  west ;  the 
whole  region,  from  Fort  Frontenac  to  Green  Bay,  was  a  savage 
wilderness.  The  Five  Nations  had  always  been  considered 
as  subjects  of  England  ;  and,  although  France  asserted  its  right 
to  dominion  over  the  lands  of  the  Five  Nations,  yet  England 
claimed  to  be  in  possession.  Religious  sympathies  inclined 
the  nations  to  the  French,  but  commercial  advantages 
brought  them  always  into  connection  with  the  English.2  Under 
the  influence  of  Monsieur  de  Callieres,  governor-general  of  Ca 
nada,  and  in  order  to  effect  a  general  peace  among  the  Indian 
tribes,  a  grand  council  of  the  several  nations  was  held  at 
Montreal,  in  1701,  at  which  the  four  upper  nations  of  the  Iro 
quois  attended.  After  rapid  negotiations,  peace  was  ratified 
between  the  Iroquois  on  the  one  side,  and  France  and  her 
Indian  allies  on  the  other;  but  the  question  of  French  jurisdic 
tion  over  the  lands  of  the  Iroquois  still  remained  undecided. 
France  kept  the  mastery  of  the  great  lakes,  and  De  Callieres 
resolved  on  founding  an  establishment  at  Detroit.  The  Indians 
complained  of  this  as  an  unwarranted  encroachment  on  that 

»La  Hentan,  tol.  i  243-260.  "Bancroft,  ToL  iiL  1W. 


VALLEY  OF   THE   MISSISSIPPI.  (Jl 

independence  of  which  they  vyere  proud  ;  and  Te-gan-issorens, 
(the  Rat,)  an  Iroquois  chief,  said,  "  the  English  had  already 
had  the  same  design  on  Detroit,  and  the  Iroquois  had  opposed 
it."  De  Callieres  insisted  upon  his  intentions  with  success, 
and  in  1701,  in  the  month  of  June,  De  la  Motte  Cadil 
lac,  with  a  Jesuit  missionary  and  one  hundred  Frenchmen, 
was  sent  to  take  possession  of  the  site  of  Detroit,  and  to  form 
a  settlement  on  the  river  of  the  lakes.  This  is  the  oldest  per 
manent  settlement  in  Michigan.  That  commonwealth  thus 
began  to  be  colonized  before  even  Georgia ;  it  may  be  termed 
the  oldest  of  all  the  inland  states,  except,  perhaps,  Illinois.1 

In  the  mean  while,  trading-posts,  missionary  stations,  and 
towns  were  springing  up  in  the  West ;  Kaskaskia  had  become 
the  capital  of  the  Illinois  country.  As  early  as  1712,  land- 
titles  were  issued  for  a  common  field  at  Kaskaskia,  and  deeds 
and  titles  came  in  use  to  designate  the  acquisitions  of  private 
enterprise.  Traders  opened  a  commerce  with  tho  remote  port 
of  Isle  Dauphin,  in  Mobile  Bay;  intercourse  was  established 
between  Quebec  in  the  north,  and  the  infant  colony  of  Louisi 
ana  in  the  south — the  latter  being  a  dependence  of  Canada,  or 
New  France. 

The  English  emissaries  had  already  penetrated  to  the  west, 
and  as  the  conquest  of  Canada  was  a  favourite  project  of 
England,  in  1711  every  effort  was  made  to  weaken  and  de- 
etroy  the  influence  of  France  with  the  Indian  tribes  of  the 
north  and  west.  In  Wisconsin,  the  English  had  (through  the 
Iroquoi.s)  obtained  allies  in  the  Ottagamios,  who,  ever  restless, 
Tvere  induced,  in  3713,  to  attempt  the  destruction  of  Detroit, 
and  they  collected  their  bands  around  it.  Monsieur  Dubuis- 
son,  with  twenty  men,  defended  the  place;  and  being  aware  of 
the  intention  of  the  Foxes,  he  summoned  from  the  chase  his 
allies — the  Ottawas,  Hurons,  Pottowatamies,  one  branch  of  the 
Sacs,  Illinois,  Menomonies,  and  even  Osages  and  Missouris, 
who  came  to  his  relief — each  nation  under  its  own  ensign. 
Such  was  the  influence  of  the  missionaries  in  the  west.2  The 
Fox  warriors,  far  from  destroying  Detroit,  were  themselves 

1  Bancroft,  vol.  iii,  194.  *  Bancroft,  vol.  iii.  224. 


62  HISTORY  OF  WISCONSIN. 

besieged  and  finally  compelled  to  surrender  at  discretion : 
those  who  bore  arms  were  ruthlessly  murdered ;  the  rest  were 
distributed  among  the  confederates  as  slaves,  to  be  saved  or 
massacred  at  the  will  of  their  masters.1 

The  incipient  settlement  and  prosperity  of  the  West  may  be 
judged  by  the  fact  that,  in  1720,  a  lucrative  trade  had  sprung 
up  between  the  Illinois  country  and  the  province  of  lower 
Louisiana.  Not  only  the  furs  and  peltries  of  the  northern 
tribes,  but  the  grain,  flour,  and  other  agricultural  products 
of  the  upper  Mississippi  were  transported  down  the  river  to 
Mobile,  and  thence  to  the  West  Indies  and  to  Europe  ;  and 
in  return,  the  luxuries  and  refinements  of  European  capitals 
were  carried  to  the  banks  of  the  Illinois  and  Kaskasia 
Rivers.2 

Settlements  continued  to  be  formed  on  the  Mississippi  be 
low  the  mouth  of  the  Illinois,  and  France  resolved  to  circum 
vent  the  English  provinces  on  the  Atlantic  coast,  by  a  cordon 
of  military  posts  from  the  lakes  of  Canada  on  the  north,  to 
the  Gulf  of  Mexico  on  the  south,  as  first  suggested  by  La 
Salle  himself,  on  his  visit  to  Paris  in  the  year  1684.  His 
plans  were  now  about  to  be  adopted,  for  the  purpose  of  occu 
pying  the  great  valley  of  the  Mississippi  before  any  English 
men  had  crossed  the  mountains  from  their  Atlantic  colonies. 
The  first  important  step  in  the  accomplishment  of  this  great 
object  was  taken  in  the  year  1720,  at  which  time  Monsieur 
JBoisbriant,  the  commandant  on  the  Illinois,  removed  his 
head-quarters  to  the  bank  of  the  Mississippi,  twenty-five  miles 
below  the  village  of  Kaskaskia.3  Near  the  close  of  this  year, 
arrangements  were  made  for  the  construction  of  a  strong 
fortress  in  the  Illinois  country,  to  serve  as  the  head-quarters 
of  Upper  Louisiana.  The  site  had  been  selected,  and  Fort 
Chartres  was  begun,  on  the  east  side  of  the  Mississippi,  about 
sixty-five  miles  below  the  mouth  of  the  Missouri.  It  was  de 
signed  by  the  ministers  to  be  one  of  the  strongest  fortresses 

^oc.  Hist,  2  Martin's  Louisiana,  vol.  i.  104,  188. 

*  Martin's  Louisiana,  vol.  i.  224. 


VALLEY   OF   THE   MISSISSIPPI.  63 

on  the  continent,  and  its  walls  were  built  of  strong  and  solid 
masonry.  At  the  end  of  eighteen  months,  and  after  great 
labour  and  expense,  Fort  Chartres  was  completed.  Its  massy 
ruins,  one  hundred  years  afterward,  were  overgrown  with 
vines  and  forest  trees,  almost  impenetrable  to  the  traveller. 

Soon  after  the  construction  of  Fort  Chartres,  the  villages 
of  Cahokia,  Prairie  de  Rocher,  and  some  others,  sprung  into 
note  in  its  vicinity.  All  the  settlements,  from  the  Illinois  to 
the  Kaskaskia  continued  to  extend  and  multiply.  In  the  year 
1721,  the  Jesuits  had  established  a  monastery  and  a  college 
in  the  village  of  Kaskaskia.  Four  years  afterward,  this  vil 
lage  became  a  chartered  town ;  and  a  grant  of  Louis  XV. 
guarantied  « the  commons"  as  the  pasture  grounds  for  the 
stock  of  the  town.  Emigrants,  under  the  favour  and  protec 
tion  of  the  crown,  continued  to  settle  the  fertile  region  of  the 
"American  Bottom,"  and  Fort  Chartres  became  not  only  the 
head-quarters  of  the  commandant  in  Upper  Louisiana,  but 
the  centre  of  life  and  fashion  in  the  West.  It  was  for  many 
years  the  most  celebrated  fortress  in  all  the  valley  of  the  Mis 
sissippi.1  (NOTE  C.) 

In  April,  1713,  the  treaty  of  Utrecht  was  concluded  ;  which, 
although  it  closed  the  series  of  universal  wars  for  the  balance 
of  power,  yet  it  did  not  settle  any  great  question  of  mercan 
tile  privileges.  As  tthe  mercantile  system  was  identified  with 
the  colonial  system,  the  political  interest,  which  alone  could 
kindle  universal  war,  was  to  be  sought  in  the  colonies. 
Henceforward,  the  question  of  trade  on  our  borders,  the  ques 
tion  of  territory  on  our  frontier,  involved  an  interest  which 
could  excite  the  world  to  arms.  For  about  two  centuries  the 
wars  of  religion  had  prevailed ;  the  wars  for  commercial  ad 
vantages  were  now  prepared.2 

England,  by  the  peace  of  Utrecht,  obtained  from  France 
large  concessions  of  territory  in  America.  The  Assembly  of 
New  York  had  addressed  Queen  Anne  against  French  settle- 


1  Martin's  Louisiana,  vol.  i.  224.  Monette,  Val.  Miss.,  vol.  i.  164. 

2  Bancroft,  vol.  iii.  228. 


$4  HISTORY  OF  WISCONSIN. 

ments  in  the  West ;  William  Perm  advised  to  establish  the  St, 
Lawrence  as  the  boundary  on  the  north,  and  to  include  in  our 
colonies  the  valley  of  the  Mississippi.  It  "  will  make  a  glo 
rious  country,"  were  his  prophetic  words.  The  attention  of 
the  English  ministry  was  again  and  again  directed  to  the  pro 
gress  of  the  French  in  the  West.  The  colonization  of  Louis 
iana  had  been  proposed  to  Queen  Anne,  yet,  at  the  peace,  that 
immense  region  remained  to  France.  But  England  obtained 
supremacy  in  the  fisheries,  the  entire  possession  of  the  Bay 
of  Hudson  and  its  borders,  of  Newfoundland,  and  of  all  Nova 
Scotia,  or  Acadia,  according  to  its  ancient  boundaries.  It 
was  agreed,  also,  that  France  should  never  molest  the  Five 
Nations,  subject  to  the  dominion  of  Great  Britain.  But  how 
far  did  Louisiana  extend  ?  It  included,  according  to  French 
ideas,  the  whole  basin  of  the  Mississippi.  Did  the  treaty  of 
Utrecht  assent  to  such  an  extension  of  French  territory? 
And  what  were  the  ancient  limits  of  Acadia?  What  were 
the  bounds  of  the  territory  of  the  Five  Nations,  which  the 
treaty  appeared  to  recognise  as  a  part  of  the  English  domin 
ions?  These  were  questions  which  were  never  to  be  amicably 
adjusted.1 

The  locality  of  the  Indian  tribes,  from  the  advent  of  the 
early  discoverers  of  North  America  up  to  this  period,  is  a 
matter  of  necessary  consideration ;  the  native  occupants  of 
the  Illinois  country,  and  the  western  portion  of  New  France, 
as  seen  by  the  first  Jesuit  missionaries  upon  Lake  Michigan, 
were  Birniliar,  in  all  respects,  to  the  tribes  previously  known 
to  them  on  the  St.  Lawrence ;  for  the  first  aspect  of  the 
original  inhabitants  of  the  United  States  was  uniform.2  Be 
tween  the  Indians  of  Florida  and  Canada  the  difference  was 
scarcely  perceptible.  Their  manners  and  institutions,  as  well 
as  their  organization,  had  a  common  physiognomy ;  and  before 
their  languages  began  to  be  known,  there  was  no  safe  method 
of  grouping  the  nations  into  families.  But  when  the  vast  va 
riety  of  dialects  came  to  be  compared,  there  were  found,  east 

>  Bancroft,  vol.  iii.  23&  2  Charlcvoix,  vol.  i.  29. 


VALLEY  OF   THE   MISSISSIPPI.  65 

of  the  Mississippi,  not  more  than  eight  radically  distinct  lan 
guages,  of  which  five  still  continue  the  speech  of  powerful 
communities,  and  three  are  known  only  as  memorials  of  tribes 
that  have  almost  disappeared  from  the  earth.1 

The  communities  and  tribes  thus  distinguished  by  language, 
are  known  as:  1.  Algonquin;  2.  Dahcota ;  3.  Huron-Iro- 
quois ;  4.  Catawba  ;  5.  Cherokee ;  6.  Uchee  ;  7.  Natchez  ; 
8.  Mobillian.  The  Algonquin  tongue,  which  existed  not  only 
on  the  St.  Lawrence,  but  also  on  the  Des  Moines,  was  most 
widely  diffused.  It  was  heard  from  Cape  Fear  to  the  land  of  the 
Esquimaux  ;  from  the  Cumberland  river  of  Kentucky  to  the 
southern  bank  of  the  Missinnippi,  a  thousand  miles  north-west 
from  the  sources  of  the  Mississippi.  It  was  spoken,  though  not 
exclusively,  in  a  territory  that  extended  through  sixty  degrees 
of  longitude,  and  more  than  twenty  degrees  of  latitude.  It 
was  the  mother  tongue  of  those  who  greeted  the  colonists  of 
Raleigh,  at  Roanoke ;  of  those  who  welcomed  the  Pilgrims  to 
Plymouth.2 

Our  remarks  on  the  localities  of  these  several  communities 
may  properly  be  restricted  to  the  region  of  country  of  which 
we  more  particularly  speak.  The  nations  which  spoke  dialects 
of  the  Huron-Iroquois,  or,  as  it  has  also  been  called,  of  the 
Wyandot,  were,  on  the  discovery  of  America,  found  powerful 
in  numbers,  and  diffused  over  a  wide  territory.  The  penin 
sula,  inclosed  between  Lakes  Huron,  Erie,  and  Ontario,  had 
been  the  dwelling-place  of  the  five  confederated  tribes  of  the 
Hurons.  After  their  defeat  by  the  Five  Nations,  a  part  de 
scended  the  St.  Lawrence,  and  their  progeny  may  still  be  seen 
near  Quebec ;  a  part  were  adopted  on  equal  terms  into  the 
tribes  of  their  conquerors;  the  Wyandots  fled  beyond  Lake 
Superior,  and  hid  themselves  in  the  dreary  wastes  that  di 
vided  the  Chippewas  from  their  western  foes.  In  1671,  they 
retreated  before  the  powerful  Sioux,  and  made  their  home 
first  at  St.  Mary's  and  at  Michillimackinac,  and  afterward 


'Albert  Gallatin's  Synopsis.     Bancroft,  vol.  iii.  237. 
2  Bancroft,  vol.  iii. 
VOL.  I.— 5. 


(56  HISTORY  OF  WISCONSIN. 

near  the  post  of  Detroit.  Thus,  the  Wyandots  within  our 
borders  were  emigrants  from  Canada.  Having  a  mysterious 
influence  over  the  Algonquin  tribes,  and  making  treaties  with 
the  Five  Nations,  they  spread  along  Lake  Erie ;  and  leaving 
to  the  Miamis  the  country  beyond  the  Miami  of  the  Lakes, 
they  gradually  acquired  a  claim  to  the  whole  territory,  from 
that  river  to  the  western  boundary  of  New  York.1 

The  immediate  dominion  of  the  Iroquois — where  the  Mo 
hawks,  Oneidas,  Onondagas,  Cayugas,  and  Senecas  were  first 
visited  by  the  trader,  the  missionary,  or  the  war  parties  of  the 
French — stretched  from  the  borders  of  Vermont  to  Western 
New  York,  from  the  Lakes  to  the  head  waters  of  the  Ohio, 
the  Susquehannah,  and  the  Delaware.  The  number  of  their 
warriors  was  declared  by  the  French,  in  1660,  to  have  been 
two  thousand  two  hundred;  this  was  confirmed  by  an  English 
agent,  sent,  in  1677,  on  purpose  to  ascertain  their  strength. 
Their  geographical  position  made  them  umpires  in  the  contest 
of  the  French  for  dominion  in  the  West.  Besides,  their  po 
litical  importance  was  increased  by  their  conquests.  They 
claimed  some  supremacy  in  northern  New  England  as  far  as  the 
Kennebec,  and  to  the  south  as  far  as  New  Haven,  and  were 
acknowledged  as  absolute  lords  over  the  conquered  Lenni- 
Lenape ;  the  peninsula  of  Upper  Canada  was  their  hunting- 
field  by  right  of  war ;  they  had  exterminated  the  Eries  and 
the  Andastes,  both  tribes  of  their  own  family,  the  one  dwell 
ing  on  the  south-eastern  banks  of  Lake  Erie,  the  other  on  the 
head  waters  of  the  Ohio ;  they  had  triumphantly  invaded  the 
tribes  of  the  West  as  far  as  Illinois ;  their  warriors  had 
reached  the  soil  of  Kentucky  and  Western  Virginia,  and  Eng 
land,  to  whose  alliance  they  steadily  inclined,  availed  itself  of 
their  treaties  for  the  cession  of  territories,  to  encroach  even 
on  the  empire  of  France  in  America.2 

The  Shawanese  connected  the  south-eastern  Algonquins 
with  those  of  the  West ;  the  basin  of  the  Cumberland  river 
is  marked  by  the  earliest  French  geographers  as  the  home  of 

i  Bancroft,  vol.  iii.  2  Idem,  p.  244. 


VALLEY   OF    THE    MISSISSIPPI.  67 

this  restless  nation  of  wanderers.  Subsequently,  they  have 
been  found  with  their  cabins  in  Virginia,  in  South  Carolina, 
on  the  head  waters  of  the  Mobile  River,  and  on  the  banks  of 
the  Susquehannah.  In  1732,  when  the  number  of  Indian 
fighting  men  in  Pennsylvania  was  estimated  to  be  seven  hun 
dred,  one-half  of  them  were  Shawnee  emigrants. 

The  Miamis  were  more  stable,  and  their  own  traditions  pre 
serve  the  memory  of  their  ancient  limits.  "My  forefather," 
said  the  Miami  orator,  Little  Turtle,  at  the  treaty  of  Green 
ville,  in  1795,  "  kindled  the  first  fire  at  Detroit;  from  thence  he 
extended  his  lines  to  the  head  waters  of  the  Scioto ;  from 
thence  to  its  mouth ;  from  thence  down  the  Ohio  to  the 
mouth  of  the  Wabash  ;  and  from  thence  to  Chicago,  on  Lake 
Michigan.  These  are  the  boundaries  within  which  the  prints 
of  my  ancestors'  houses  are  everywhere  to  be  seen."  The 
early  French  narratives  confirm  his  words. 

The  forests  beyond  Detroit  were  at  first  found  unoccupied, 
or,  it  may  be,  roamed  over  by  bands  too  feeble  to  attract  a 
trader,  or  win  a  missionary ;  the  Ottowas,  Algonquin  fugitives 
from  the  basin  of  the  magnificent  river  whose  name  comme 
morates  them,  fled  to  the  Bay  of  Saginaw,  and  took  posses 
sion  of  the  whole  north  of  the  peninsula,  as  of  a  derelict 
country;  yet  the  Miamis  occupied  its  southern  moiety,  and 
their  principal  mission  was  founded  by  Allouez,  on  the  banks 
of  the  St.  Joseph,  within  the  present  State  of  Michigan. 

The  Illinois  were  kindred  to  the  Miamis,  and  their  country 
lay  between  the  Wabash,  the  Ohio,  and  the  Mississippi.  Mar- 
quette  found  a  village  of  them  on  the  Des  Moines,  but  its  oc 
cupants  soon  withdrew  to  the  east  of  the  Mississippi;  and 
Kaskaskia,  Cahokia,  Peoria,  still  preserve  the  names  of  the 
principal  bands,  of  which  the  original  strength,  perhaps,  has 
been  greatly  exaggerated.  The  vague  tales  of  a  considerable 
population  vanished  before  the  accurate  observation  of  the 
missionaries,  who  found  in  the  wild  wilderness  of  Illinois 
scarcely  three  or  four  villages.  On  the  discovery  of  America, 
the  number  of  the  scattered  tenants  of  the  territory  which 
now  forms  the  States  of  Ohio,  Michigan,  Indiana,  Illinois, 


(38  HISTORY   OF   WISCONSIN. 

Wisconsin,  and  Kentucky,  could  hardly  have  exceeded  eighteen; 
thousand.1 

In  the  early  part  of  the  eighteenth  century,  the  Pottawa- 
tamies  had  crowded  the  Miamis  from  their  dwellings  at  Chi 
cago;  the  intruders  came  from  the  islands  near  the  entrance 
of  Green  Bay,  and  were  a  branch  of  the  Chippewas.  That 
nation,  or  as  properly  written,  the  Ojibwas — the  Algonquin 
tribes  of  whose  dialect,  mythology,  traditions,  and  customs 
•we  have  the  fullest  accounts2 — held  the  country  from  the  mouth 
of  Green  Bay  to  the  head  waters  of  Lake  Superior,  and  were 
early  visited  by  the  French  at  Sault  St.  Marie  and  Chegoi- 
megon.  They  adopted  into  their  tribes  many  of  the  Ottowas 
from  Upper  Canada,  and  were  themselves  often  included  by 
the  early  French  writers  under  that  name. 

Ottawa  is  but  the  Algonquin  word  for  "trader,"  and  Mas- 
coutins  are  but  "  dwellers  in  the  prairie."  The  latter  hardly 
implies  a  band  of  Indians,  distinct  from  the  Chippewas ;  but 
history  recognises  as  a  separate  Algonquin  tribe,  near  Green 
Bay,  the  Menominees,  who  were  found  there  in  1669,  who  re 
tained  their  ancient  territory  long  after  the  period  of  French 
and  of  English  supremacy,  and  who  prove  their  high  antiquity 
as  a  nation  by  the  singular  character  of  their  dialect. 

South-west  of  the  Menominees,  the  restless  Sacs  and  Foxes, 
ever  dreaded  by  the  French,  held  the- passes  from  Green  Bay 
and  Fox  River  to  the  Mississippi,  and  with  insatiate  avidity 
roamed  in  pursuit  of  contest,  over  the  whole  country  between 
the  Wisconsin  and  the  upper  branches  of  the  Illinois.  The 
Shawnees  are  said  to  have  an  affinity  with  this  nation  ;  that 
the  Kickapoos,  who  established  themselves  by  conquest  in  the- 
north  of  Illinois,  are  but  a  branch  of  it,  is  demonstrated  by 
their  speech. 

North-west  of  the  Sacs  and  Foxes,  west  of  the  Chippewas, 
bands  of  the  Sioux  or  Dahcotas  had  encamped  on  prairies 
east  of  the  Mississippi,  vagrants,  between  the  head  waters  of 


*  Bancroft,  vol.  iii.  241  ;  compare  Marest,  Hennepin,  Tonti,  JouteL 
agchoolcraft,  1825,  p.  360. 


VALLEY   OF   THE   MISSISSIPPI.  69 

Lake  Superior  and  the  Falls  of  St.  Anthony.  They  were  a 
branch  of  the  great  family,  which,  dwelling  for  the  most  part 
west  of  the  Mississippi  and  the  Red  River,  extended  from  the 
Saskatchawan  to  lands  south  of  the  Arkansas.  French 
traders  discovered  their  wigwams  in  1659 ;  Hennepin  was 
among  them  on  his  expedition  to  the  North ;  Joseph  Marest, 
and  another  Jesuit,  visited  them  in  1687,  and  again  in  1689. 
There  seemed  to  exist  an  hereditary  warfare  between  them  and 
the  Chippewas.  Their  relations  to  the  colonies,  whether  of 
France  or  England,  at  this  early  period,  were  accidental,  and 
related  chiefly  to  individuals.  But  one  little  community  of 
the  Dahcota  family  had  penetrated  the  territory  of  the  Al- 
gonquins ;  the  Winnebagoes,  dwelling  between  Green  Bay 
and  the  lake  that  bears  their  name,  preferred  rather  to  be 
environed  by  Algonquins,  than  to  stay  in  the  dangerous  vi 
cinity  of  their  own  kindred.  Like  other  Western  and  South 
ern  tribes,  their  population  appears  of  late  to  have  been 
greatly  increased.1 

The  Menominees  are  often  called  by  the  Jesuit  Fathers,  in 
their  Relations,  Malouminees,  Fols  Avoine,  People  of  the  Wild 
Eice;  manomin  being  the  Indian  name  of  the  grain  so  plen 
tifully  growing  in  their  region,  wild  oats  being  the  appellation 
given  to  it  by  the  missionaries.  The  Mascoutins  were  also 
called  "La  Nation  du  Feu,"  and  "Les  Petuns ;"  Mascouti- 
nech  signifies  a  land  bare  of  trees,  such  as  these  people  in 
habit;  the  same  word  signifies  "fire;"  but  why  especially 
called  the  "  Tobacco  nation,"  does  not  appear  to  be  explained 
by  the  early  writers,  the  growing  of  tobacco  being  common 
with  several  tribes.  The  above  names  are  indiscriminately 
given  to  those  people  whenever  they  are  spoken  of  by  the 
Fathers,  previous  to  1672.2 

From  the  time  that  Iberville  took  possession  of  the  mouths 
of  the  Mississippi,  up  to  1712,  a  period  of  near  thirteen 
years,  there  had  been  not  less  than  twenty-five  hundred  set- 

^harlevoix,  iii.  291.     Bancroft,  vol.  iii.  243. 
2  Jesuit  Relations,  passim. 


70  HISTORY  OF   WISCONSIN. 

tiers  of  all  kinds  introduced  into  Louisiana,  who  had  been 
distributed  in  distant  explorations,  and  scattered  settlements 
on  the  west  coast  of  Mobile ;  many  had  died,  some  had  re 
mained  in  the  Illinois  country.  Yet  the  colony  had  been  at 
great  expense  to  the  crown;  already  689,000  livres,  or  about 
$170,000,  had  been  expended,  when  the  value  of  money  was 
not  reduced  by  paper.1  Yet  the  colonists  merely  lived,  pros 
per  they  could  not,  since  agriculture  was  neglected,  and  the 
improvident  immigrants  were  scattered  over  a  vast  country, 
vainly  searching  for  gold  ancl  silver,  and  precious  stones,  or 
seeking  wealth  in  the  paltry  traffic  of  furs  and  skins,  purchased 
of  the  Indians.  Those  who  remained  stationary,  were  settled 
on  the  barren  shores  of  Mobile,  Biloxi,  and  of  St.  Louis  Bay, 
with  an  uncertain  dependence  upon  hunting  and  fishing,  or  the 
precarious  bounty  of  the  savages.  Many  of  them,  with  child 
ish  confidence,  seemed  to  have  expected  annual  supplies  from 
France,  or  that  the  natives  would  continue  to  supply  their 
wants.  Led  away  by  the  most  unreasonable  hopes,  as  to  the 
spontaneous  products  of  the  country,  they  deemed  labour  or 
provident  attention  on  their  part,  wholly  superfluous.  They 
even  entertained  the  belief  that  the  wool  of  the  buifalo,  which 
abounded  in  the  prairies,  would  yield  a  valuable  commodity 
for  export.  Instead  of  building  comfortable  houses  for  per 
manent  residence,  they  roamed  to  the  most  remote  regions  in 
quest  of  mines  of  precious  metals.  Every  new  specimen  of 
earth,  to  their  distempered  imaginations  was  some  valuable 
mineral ;  every  brilliant  ore,  or  carburet,  was  pure  gold.  Nor 
was  the  government  of  France  free  from  the  delusion.  The 
ministry  had  directed  that  a  number  of  buffaloes  should  be 
caught  and  tamed,  to  propagate  their  species  in  France,  for 
the  sake  of  their  wool.  Large  quantities  of  earths  were 
shipped  to  France  from  the  Upper  Mississippi,  to  be  assayed 
by  experienced  smelters,  in  hopes  of  proving  it  a  valuable 
oxyd  of  some  precious  metal.  The  most  extravagant  tales  of 
designing  men  were  received  with  the  greediness  of  entire  be- 

» Stoddart's  Sketches,  p.  29. 


VALLEY  OF   THE   MISSISSIPPI.  71 

lief ;  rewards  were  paid  to  those  who  gave  intelligence  of  valu 
able  mines,  and  extravagant  discoveries  multiplied  in  propor 
tion  to  the  rewards  offered.1 

i  Such  was  the  condition  of  the  first  colonists  ;  hence  it  is  not 
strange  that  famine,  disease,  and  death  should  soon  find  their 
way  among  them.  In  1701,  the  entire  number  was  reduced 
to  one  hundred  and  fifty  souls ;  Sauvole  was  an  early  victim 
to  disease,  and  the  chief  command  devolved  on  Bienville.  Le 
Sueur  returned  from  St.  Peter's  River  in  1702,  with  his  boats 
laden  with  the  supposed  valuable  copper  ore  from  the  Blue 
Earth  River ;  but  Fort  L'Huillier,  which  he  had  built,  to 
gether  with  other  posts  on  the  Upper  Mississippi  above  the 
Wisconsin,  were  abandoned  on  account  of  the  hostility  of  the 
Sioux.  Iberville  arrived  with  reinforcements,  in  December, 
1702,  and  found  the  whole  population  of  Louisiana  reduced, 
by  famine  and  bilious  fevers,  to  not  more  than  thirty  families. 
Attacked  himself  by  the  yellow  fever,  he  escaped  with  his 
life,  but  his  health  was  broken,  and  although  he  rendered  ser 
vices  to  France  afterward,  yet  his  efforts  were  followed  by  a 
severe  illness,  which  terminated  in  his  death,  in  July,  1?06.2 
The  founder  of  Louisiana,  the  hero  of  Hudson's  Bay,  the 
conqueror  of  the  English  posts  from  Fort  Rupert  to  Albany 
River,  was  well  worthy  the  deep  regret  of  the  colonies  and  of 
the  French  nation.  The  band  of  brothers,  De  Sainte  Helene, 
D'Iberville,  Sauvole,  Bienville,  were  Canadians,  sons  of 
Charles  Lemoine,  an  early  emigrant  from  Normandy.  Their 
names  are  worthy  the  page  of  American  history.3 

The  colony  of  Louisiana  had  so  far  failed  to  meet  the  ex 
pectations  of  the  crown  or  the  people  of  France,  that  the 
French  court  began  to  see  that  a  change  in  the  government 
and  general  policy  of  the  province  was  indispensable.  Here 
tofore  the  settlements  of  Louisiana  had  been  a  dependence  on 
New  France  or  Canada,  although  separated  by  a  wilderness 
of  two  thousand  miles  in  extent.  Now  it  was  to  be  made  an 


1  Martin's  Louisiana,  vol.  i.  155.     Monette,  vol.  i.  207. 

2  Bancroft,  vol.  iii.  205,  3  Idem,  p.  179. 


72  HISTORY  OF  WISCONSIN. 

independent  government,  responsible  only  to  the  crown,  and 
comprising  also  the  "Illinois  country"  under  its  jurisdiction. 
The  government  of  Louisiana  was  accordingly,  in  1711,  placed 
in  the  hands  of  a  governor-general.  The  head-quarters,  or 
Beat  of  the  colonial  government  was  established  at  Mobile, 
and  a  new  fort  erected  on  the  site  of  the  present  city  of  Mo 
bile.  Dirou  d'Artaguette,  as  commissary  ordonnateur,  ar 
rived  early  in  the  year  1711,  and  entered  upon  his  duties.  De 
Muys,  the  governor-general,  had  died  on  the  voyage. 

It  was  determined  that  the  colonists  should  depend  on  their 
own  exertions  and  industry  for  the  principal  necessaries  of 
life;  that  agriculture  should  be  fostered,  and  that  the  land 
which  heretofore  had  been  neglected,  should  be  taxed  to  sup 
port  those  necessaries ;  that  France  would  supply  only  such 
as  could  not  be  produced  in  the  province.  But  the  settle 
ments  were  as  yet  confined  to  a  few  sandy  islands,  and  the  ste 
rile  coast  from  Mobile  Bay  westward  to  the  Bay  of  St.  Louis.1 

Bienville  had  been  appointed  governor-general  of  the  pro 
vince  ;  he  had  before  seen  the  necessity  of  agricultural  set 
tlements,  and  he  sought  to  form  them  on  the  deep  alluvions  of 
the  Mississippi.  Although  exploring  parties  had  been  sent 
to  the  remotest  portions  of  the  province,  although  every  In 
dian  tribe  had  been  visited,  yet  not  one  permanent  settlement 
had  been  made  on  the  banks  of  the  Mississippi ;  not  one  ves 
tige  of  civilized  life  had  been  made  upon  the  most  fertile  re 
gions  of  the  vast  province ;  not  one  field  or  village  greeted 
the  traveller's  eye,  if  we  except  the  small  fort  of  Iberville, 
toward  the  mouth,  which  had  now  been  abandoned.  The 
government  of  France,  embarrassed  and  burdened  with  debt, 
was  unable  to  maintain  the  helpless  colony.2 

It  is  proper  to  view  the  boundaries  of  the  province  of  Louis 
iana  as  claimed  by  the  French.  On  the  side  of  Spain,  at  the 
west  and  south,  it  was  held  to  extend  to  the  river  Del  Norte ; 
and  on  the  map  published  by  the  French  Academy,  the  line 
passing  from  that  river  to  the  ridge  that  divides  it  from  the 

1  Monette,  vol.  i.  209.  2  Idem. 


VALLEY   OF   THE    MISSISSIPPI.  73 

Red  River,  followed  that  ridge  to  the  Rocky  Mountains,  and 
then  descended  to  seek  its  termination  in  the  Gulf  of  Califor 
nia.  On  the  Gulf  of  Mexico,  it  is  certain  that  France  claimed 
to  the  Del  Norte.  At  the  north-west,  where  its  collision  would 
have  been  with  the  possessions  of  the  Company  of  Hudson's 
Bay,  no  treaty,  no  commission,  appears  to  have  fixed  its  limits. 

On  the  east,  the  line,  as  between  Spain  and  France,  was  the 
halfway  between  the  Spanish  garrison  at  Pensacola,  and  the 
fort  which,  in  1711,  the  French  had  established  on  the  site  of 
the  present  city  of  Mobile.  With  regard  to  England,  Louis 
iana  was  held  to  embrace  the  whole  valley  of  the  Mississippi. 
Not  a  fountain  bubbled  on  the  west  of  the  Alleghanies  but 
was  claimed  as  being  within  the  French  empire.  Louisiana 
stretched  to  the  head  springs  of  the  Alleghany,  and  the 
Monongahela,  of  the  Kenawha  and  the  Tennessee.  Half  a 
mile  from  the  head  of  the  southern  branch  of  the  Savannah 
River,  is  Herbert's  spring,  which  flows  to  the  Mississippi :  stran 
gers,  who  drank  of  it,  would  say  they  had  tasted  of  French 
waters.1  France  had  obtained,  under  Providence,  the  guar 
dianship  of  this  immense  district  of  country,  "not,  as  it 
proved,  for  its  own  benefit,  but  rather  as  a  trustee  for  the  in 
fant  nation  by  which  it  was  one  day  to  be  inherited."2 

In  France  it  was  still  believed  that  Louisiana  presented  a 
rich  field  for  enterprise  and  speculation.  The  court  deter 
mined  to  place  the  resources  of  the  province  under  the  influ 
ence  of  individual  enterprise.  For  this  purpose,  a  grant  of 
exclusive  privileges  in  all  the  commerce  of  the  province,  for  a 
term  of  fifteen  years,  was  made  to  Anthony  Crozat,  a  rich 
and  influential  merchant  of  France,  "who  had  prospered  in 
opulence  to  the  astonishment  of  all  the  world.  This  patent 
of  monopoly  of  trade,  one  of  the  most  stupendous  that  ever 
was  conceded  by  supreme  authority  to  a  subject,  was  dated 
September  14th,  1712,  and  La  Motte  Cadillac,  now  the  royal 
Governor  of  Louisiana,  became  the  partner  of  Crozat  in  all 


» Bancroft,  vol.  iii.  343.     Greenhow's  Memoir,  p.  216.     Adair,  p.  231. 
3  Bancroft,  vol.  iii.  203. 


74  HISTORY  OF   WISCONSIN. 

its  contemplated  advantages ;  thus,  the  merchant  proprietary, 
and  the  founder  of  Detroit,  sought  fortune  by  discovering 
mines,  and  encroaching  on  the  colonial  monopolies  of  Spain.1 
(NOTE  D.) 

The  seeds  of  the  Mississippi  scheme  were  already  sown  in 
the  hearts  and  minds  of  the  whole  French  nation ;  the  vision 
of  a  fertile  empire,  with  its  plantations,  manors,  cities,  and 
busy  wharves,  a  monopoly  of  commerce  throughout  all  French 
North  America,  the  certain  products  of  the  richest  silver 
mines,  and  mountains  of  gold,  were  blended  in  the  French 
mind  into  one  boundless  promise  of  untold  treasures.2  The 
visionary  expectations  of  the  nobility ;  the  churchmen,  who 
competed  for  favours  from  the  privileged  institution;  the 
stock-jobbers,  including  dukes  and  peers,  marshals  and  bish 
ops,  women  of  rank,  statesmen  and  courtiers,  were  soon  to 
become  a  subject  of  wonder  and  astonishment  for  after-ages ; 
exhibited  as  they  were,  in  the  madness  which  attended  the 
operations  of  the  Great  Western  or  Mississippi  Company, 
connected  as  it  was  with  the  gigantic  banking  scheme,  both 
of  which  were  instituted  and  conducted  under  the  auspices  of 
John  Law,  who  at  that  period  of  cupidity  was  reverenced  as 
the  greatest  man  of  the  age.  The  bursting  of  the  bubbles 
entailed  ruin  on  a  nation. 

The  fourteenth  article  of  the  charter  to  Crozat  authorized 
slavery,  and  the  traffic  in  slaves,  throughout  all  Louisiana, 
from  the  mouth  of  the  Mississippi  to  its  sources,  and  on  all 
the  streams  discharging  themselves  into  it.  The  effects  which 
might  have  been  produced  by  the  full  exercise  of  the  power 
thus  granted,  together  with  the  proviso  stipulations  of  the 
Virginia  cession,  in  the  ordinance  of  1787,  and  the  Missouri 
compromise,  which  established  the  latitude  of  36°  30'  as  the 
division  line  between  slavery  and  anti-slavery,  might  well 
constitute  a  subject  of  curious  abstract  investigation.  Per 
haps  it  is  a  most  happy  and  fortunate  circumstance  in  regard 
to  the  agitations  of  the  present  day,  that  the  extraordinary 

1  Bancroft,  vol.  iii.  347.  2  Ibid.  p.  351. 


VALLEY  OF    THE   MISSISSIPPI.  75 

privileges  of  so  extensive  a  traffic  in  slaves  in  the  Mississippi 
valley,  were  never  taken  advantage  of,  to  any  extent,  by 
Monsieur  Crozat. 

At  the  time  of  the  granting  of  the  charter,  the  French 
population  in  all  this  region,  was  comprised  in  a  few  hundred 
indolent  and  ignorant  colonists,  and  a  few  troops  in  the  forts. 
The  whole  number  of  settlers  in  Lower  Louisiana  consisted 
of  twenty-eight  families,  whose  occupation,  besides  fishing  and 
hunting,  was  the  cultivation  of  small  garden  spots  in  the 
sterile  regions  around  the  Bays  of  Biloxi,  St.  Louis,  and  Mo 
bile.  The  soldiers,  distributed  in  the  several  garrisoned  forts, 
consisted  of  one  hundred  and  seventy-five  men,  comprising 
two  companies  of  infantry,  of  fifty  men  each,  and  seventy- 
five  Canadian  volunteers.  There  were  also,  at  this  time, 
twenty  negro  slaves,  a  few  Jesuits,  and  Franciscans,  and 
king's  officers.  The  whole  number  of  Europeans  in  Lower 
Louisiana  was  three  hundred  and  eighty  souls,  and  about  three 
hundred  head  of  cattle.  There  were  also  a  few  settlements  on 
the  Kaskaskia  and  Wabash  Rivers.1  In  the  far  North,  and 
in  the  vicinity  of  Lakes  Michigan,  Huron,  and  Superior,  the 
missionary  establishments,  and  the  recently  erected  military 
post  at  Detroit,  constituted  the  entire  white  population. 

Crozat  met  with  no  success  in  his  commercial  operations  ; 
every  Spanish  harbour  in  the  Gulf  of  Mexico  was  closed 
against  his  vessels ;  the  occupation  of  Louisiana  itself  was 
deemed  an  encroachment  on  Spanish  territory ;  and  having 
failed  in  his  contemplated  trade  with  the  Spaniards,  Crozat 
caused  settlements,  or  trading-posts,  to  be  made  in  the  most 
remote  parts  of  the  province,  while  explorations  were  extended 
into  the  most  distant  known  tribes.  But  for  the  advancement 
of  the  colony  he  accomplished  nothing.  The  only  prosperity 
which  it  possessed,  grew  out  of  the  enterprise  of  humble  in 
dividuals,  who  had  succeeded  in  instituting  a  little  barter  be 
tween  themselves  and  the  natives,  and  a  petty  trade  with 
neighbouring  European  settlements.  These  small  sources  of 

1  Monette,  vol.  i.  210. 


76  HISTORY  OF  WISCONSIN. 

profit  were  cut  off  by  the  profitless  but  fatal  monopoly  of  the 
Parisian  merchant.  The  Indians  were  too  numerous  to  be 
resisted  by  his  factors.  The  English  gradually  appropriated 
the  trade  with  the  natives  ;  and  every  Frenchman  in  Louis 
iana,  except  his  agents,  fomented  opposition  to  his  privileges.1 
In  all  his  calculations  and  expectations,  Crozat  was  doomed 
to  be  sadly  disappointed.  After  nearly  three  years  spent  in 
fruitless  negotiations  with  the  Spanish  viceroy  of  Mexico,  re 
lative  to  commercial  intercourse  with  the  Spanish  ports  on 
the  Gulf  of  Mexico,  and  after  much  delay,  vexation,  and  ex 
pense,  his  vessels  were  prohibited  from  trading  in  any  of  the 
Spanish  ports.  He  then  attempted  to  institute  commercial 
relations  by  land,  for  supplying  the  interior  provinces  of  New 
Mexico ;  but  his  goods  were  seized  and  his  agents  imprisoned, 
after  a  persevering  effort  of  nearly  five  years.2 

The  trade  with  the  Indians  also  failed  to  meet  his  expecta 
tions.  The  English  emissaries  from  Carolina  were  active  in 
their  efforts  to  excite  the  tribes  east  of  the  Mississippi  to  hos 
tilities  against  the  French.  Where  this  was  impracticable, 
they  endeavoured  to  annoy  the  French  trade  by  supplying  the 
the  same  articles  at  reduced  prices.  The  mines  of  Louisiana 
were  principally  of  lead,  copper,  and  iron,  all  of  which  were 
found  in  great  abundance ;  but  they  were  not  profitable. 
Much  money  had  been  spent  in  searching  for  gold  and  silver, 
without  any  recompense.  Failing  to  realize  any  profit  from 
all  his  contemplated  resources,  he  was  unable  to  meet  his  en 
gagements  with  his  workmen,  agents,  and  troops,  and  dissatis 
faction  ensued.  He  had  expended  425,000  livres  in  his 
operations,  and  had  realized  from  all  the  sources  of  trade 
only  300,000,  leaving  him  the  loser  of  125,000  livres,  or 
about  $30,000.3  His  partner,  La  Motte  Cadillac,  the  gover 
nor,  had  died  recently,  and,  at  length,  C~ozat,  despairing  of 
the  ultimate  success  of  his  enterprise  in  a  savage  country, 
petitioned  the  king  to  revoke  his  charter,  or  to  permit  him  to 
surrender  it  to  the  crown.  The  king  complied  with  his  re- 

» Bancroft,  vol.  iii.  348.     2  Monette,  vol.  i.  213.     3  Martin's  Louis.,  vol.  i.  191 . 


VALLEY   OF   THE   MISSISSIPPI.  77 

quest,  and  accepted  the  surrender  of  his  charter,  in  August, 
1717.  The  government  of  the  colony  reverted  solely  into  the 
hands  of  the  king's  officers,  and  Crozat  retired  to  France. 

At  this  time  the  entire  population  of  Louisiana,  exclusive 
of  the  very  few  who  were  at  Detroit  and  the  Jesuit  missions, 
not  exceed  seven  hundred,  including  persons  of  every  age, 
and  colour.  Yet  the  valley  of  the  Mississippi  inflamed 
the  imagination  of  France;  anticipating  the  future,  the  French 
nation  beheld  the  certain  opulence  of  coming  ages,  as  within 
their  immediate  grasp ;  from  the  mines,  great  quantities  of 
gold  and  silver  were  still  hoped  to  be  obtained;  and  the  sup 
posed  riches,  the  commerce,  and  boundless  extent  of  Louis 
iana,  were  now  to  be  invoked  to  relieve  the  burden  and  renew 
the  credit  of  the  mother  country.1  The  debt  of  France,  on 
the  death  of  Louis  XIV.  in  1715,  amounted  to  the  enormous 
Bum  of  3,111,000,000  livres,  or  £222,000,000  sterling.  The 
revenues  of  the  kingdom  were  in  a  state  of  frightful  confusion, 
and  there  seemed  to  be  no  way  of  avoiding  a  national  bank 
ruptcy.  The  only  means  of  paying  the  interest  of  the  state  debt, 
which  was  86,000,000  livres,  (above  £6,000,000  sterling,)  was 
out  of  the  excess  of  the  revenue  over  the  expenditure  ;  but  as 
this  amounted  only  to  the  small  sum  of  9,000,000  livres,  it  was 
insufficient  to  meet  the  demands  of  the  state  creditors.  By 
means  of  strenuous  exertions,  the  Duke  of  Orleans,  who  was 
regent  during  the  minority  of  Louis  XV.,  had  contrived  to  re 
duce  the  national  debt  to  2,000,000,000  livres,  (£142,000,000 
sterling,)  and  the  interest  to  86,000,000  livres ;  further  re 
duction  was  considered  impossible,  and  the  state  was  be 
lieved  to  be  on  the  brink  of  ruin. 

At  this  crisis,  a  Scottish  theorist,  named  John  Law,  came 
forward,  and  offered  to  relieve  France  from  her  difficulties. 
Law  had  been  in  some  measure  favourably  known  at  home 
and  in  various  parts  of  the  continent,  for  his  mathematical 
abilities,  and  acquaintance  with  all  matters  relating  to  bank 
ing  and  finance,  accompanied  with  a  knowledge  by  personal 

1  Bancroft,  vol.  iii.  349. 


78  HISTORY  OF   WISCONSIN. 

observations  of  the  trade  and  manufactures  of  the  various 
countries  through  which  he  had  travelled.  His  reputation 
for  these  qualities  stood  high  in  France,  and  it  is  said  that  his 
plan  for  remedying  the  disorders  of  the  finances  of  the  king 
dom  had  been  proposed  to  Louis  XIV.  by  Desmarets,  his 
finance  minister,  but  had  been  refused  by  the  king,  as  the 
schemer  was  a  Protestant,  and  not  a  Catholic ;  therefore  he 
would  have  nothing  to  do  with  him.  The  true  character  of 
Law  appears  to  have  been  that  of  a  reckless  gambler,  and  a 
dangerous  speculator ;  a  visionary  theorist,  gifted  with  an  ex 
traordinary  capacity  in  the  studies  of  national  economy. 

In  various  interviews  with,  and  by  writings  addressed  to 
the  regent,  Law  pressed  his  great  idea,  the  establishment  of 
a  paper  currency.  Gold,  silver,  copper,  or  any  other  kind 
of  coinage,  he  said,  which  a  nation  may  agree  to  use,  are  not 
real  wealth ;  they  are  only  signs  or  representatives  of  real 
wealth,  and  derive  their  value  from  public  confidence.  It  does 
not  matter,  therefore,  what  the  kind  of  coinage  be  which  a  na 
tion  agrees  to  use ;  a  paper  coinage  or  a  leather  coinage  is  as 
good  as  a  metallic  one.  A  metallic  coinage  does  not  consti 
tute  real  riches,  but  is  valuable  only  because  the  public  choose 
to  consider  it  valuable ;  and  if  the  public  will  only  do  the 
same  with  paper  notes,  then  paper  notes  will  be  on  an  equal 
ity  with  gold  or  silver  coin.  What  is  a  louis-d'or  but  a  bank 
note,  only  made  of  gold ;  or  a  crown  but  a  bank-note,  only 
made  of  silver  ?  It  does  not  signify,  therefore,  what  a  nation 
chooses  to  consider  as  money,  be  it  even  oyster-shells ;  for 
such  will  serve  as  a  sign  or  representative  of  real  wealth  the 
same  as  a  piece  of  metal.1 

This  reasoning  is  correct  only  so  far :  gold  certainly  does 
not  constitute  real  wealth — it  is  not  food,  clothing,  nor  the 
means  of  shelter ;  all  which  are  so  many  items  of  real  wealth ; 
but  it  possesses  a  greater  intrinsic  value  than  paper,  and 
therefore  is  not  so  completely  at  the  mercy  of  public  opinion. 
Apart  altogether  from  its  fictitious  value  as  a  coin,  gold  is 

1  Chambers's  Miscellany,  vol.  x. 


VALLEY   OF    THE    MISSISSIPPI.  79 

a,  useful  and  a  precious  metal,  for  which  there  is  a  demand 
in  the  arts ;  and  the  cost  of  obtaining  it  from  the  bowels  of 
the  earth,  and  refining  it,  being  great,  every  little  piece  of 
gold  is,  as  it  were,  a  condensation  of  a  quantity  of  real 
wealth:  paper,  on  the  other  hand,  is  a  valuable  commodity 
likewise ;  but  the  cost  of  its  production  being  less,  it  really 
has  less  intrinsic  value,  and  is  more  dependent  upon  public 
opinion.  Paper  can  be  procured  as  abundantly  as  we  choose, 
but  there  is  a  limit  to  the  production  of  gold.  Gold  and  sil 
ver  are  dear  substances  in  themselves ;  paper  is  a  very  cheap 
substance.  The  value  of  a  metallic  currency,  therefore,  is  not 
so  liable  to  fluctuation  as  one  entirely  of  paper. 

Law  maintained  that  "  where  there  exists  no  circulating  me 
dium  but  gold  and  silver,  its  riches  may  be  greatly  augmented 
by  the  introduction  of  paper  money ;"  a  proposition  true  only  so 
long  as  what  is  issued  represents  real  wealth,  and  does  not  go 
beyond  the  legitimate  demands  of  the  circulation.  What  Law 
proposed  to  the  regent  was,  to  establish  a  national  bank,  which 
should  issue  notes  on  the  basis  of  landed  property,  and  of  the 
royal  revenues ;  the  bank  to  be  in  the  king's  name,  but  sub 
ject  to  the  control  of  commissioners  appointed  by  the  states- 
general.  This  was  not  approved  of,  by  the  Council  of  Finances, 
but  Law  obtained  leave  to  set  up  a  private  bank  under  the 
name  of  "Law  and  Company;"  the  funds  to  be  furnished  by 
himself  and  such  as  chose  to  become  shareholders.  The  stock 
was  to  consist  of  1200  shares  at  1000  crowns  (£250)  each, 
and  was,  therefore,  to  amount  to  .£300,000.  The  most  pecu 
liar  feature  of  the  establishment,  and  that  which  gave  it  fa 
vour  in  the  eyes  of  the  public,  was,  that  its  notes  were  to  be 
payable  at  sight,  in  specie  of  the  same  weight  and  fineness  as 
the  money  in  circulation  at  the  period  of  their  issue.  This 
was  a  novelty,  for  since  the  year  1689  the  currency  had  been 
subject  to  constant  alterations:  the  value  of  the  livre  to-day 
being,  perhaps,  not  much  more  than  half  of  what  it  was  yes 
terday.  On  this  account,  as  well  as  from  the  quickness  and 
punctuality  of  the  payments,  and  the  orders  given  to  the  offi 
cers  of  the  revenue  in  all  parts  of  the  kingdom,  to  receive  the 


80  HISTORY   OF   WISCONSIN. 

paper  of  Law's  bank  without  discount  in  payment  of  taxesy 
the  notes  of  the  bank  in  a  short  time  rose  to  great  repute,  and 
were  by  many  preferred  to  specie,  insomuch  that  they  soon  came 
to  pass  current  for  one  per  cent,  more  than  the  coin  itself. 
The  most  beneficial  effects  were  thereby  produced  on  the  in 
dustry  and  trade  of  the  nation ;  the  taxes  and  royal  revenues 
being  by  means  of  the  notes  remitted  to  the  capital  at  little 
expense,  and  without  draining  the  provinces  of  specie.  The 
bank  subsisted  in  high  credit,  to  the  no  small  profit  of  the 
proprietors,  till  the  close  of  the  year  1718,  when  the  Duke  of 
Orleans,  observing  the  uncommon  advantages  resulting  from 
the  establishment,  resolved  to  take  it  into  his  majesty's  hands, 
as  at  first  proposed.1 

On  the  4th  of  December,  1718,  the  bank  was  declared  to  be 
a  Royal  Bank,  to  be  administered  thenceforward  in  the  king's 
name.  Law  was  appointed  director-general,  and  various 
branches  were  established.  If  the  bank  had  continued  to- 
perform  no  other  functions  than  those  which  are  usually  un 
derstood  to  belong  to  a  bank,  there  is  every  probability  that 
its  establishment  would  have  been  a  considerable  advantage 
to  the  nation.  But  in  the  course  of  three  years  after  its  es 
tablishment,  the  bank  had  incorporated  with  itself  many  other 
schemes  of  various  characters,  so  that,  instead  of  continuing 
a  mere  bank,  it  became  a  gigantic  commercial  company.  In 
1717,  immediately  on  the  surrender  of  the  charter  of  Crozat, 
a  new  institution  was  established  under  the  direction  of  John 
Law,  called  the  "Company  of  the  West,"  or  more  commonly, 
"The  Mississippi  Company."  Its  legal  existence  was  limited 
to  twenty-five  years,  and  the  charter  conferred  upon  the 
"Western  Company"  much  more  extensive  powers  and  privi 
leges  than  those  granted  to  Monsieur  Crozat.  It  was  vested 
•with  the  exclusive  privilege  of  the  entire  commerce  of  Louis 
iana  and  New  France,  and  with  authority  to  enforce  its  rights. 
It  was  authorized  to  monopolize  the  trade  of  all  the  colonies  ir* 
the  provinces,  and  of  all  the  Indian  tribes  within  the  limits  of 

» Wood'g  Lift  of  Law  of  Lauriston. 


VALLEY   OF   THE   MISSISSIPPI.  81 

that  extensive  region,  even  to  the  remotest  source  of  every 
stream  tributary  in  any  wise  to  the  Mississippi  and  Mobile  Riv 
ers  ;  to  make  treaties  with  the  Indian  tribes ;  to  declare  and 
prosecute  war  against  them  in  defence  of  the  colony ;  to  grant 
lands,  to  erect  forts,  to  levy  troops,  to  raise  recruits,  and  to 
open  and  work  all  mines  of  precious  metals  or  stones  which 
might  be  discovered  in  the  province.  It  was  permitted  and 
authorized  to  nominate  and  present  men  for  the  office  of  go 
vernor,  and  for  commanders  of  the  troops,  and  to  commission 
.the  latter,  subject  to  the  king's  approval;  to  remove  inferior 
judges  and  civil  officers  ;  to  build  and  equip  ships  of  war,  and 
to  cast  cannon.  The  king  also  granted  for  the  use  of  the 
company  all  the  forts,  magazines,  guns,  ammunition,  and  vessels 
pertaining  to  the  province.1 

Among  the  obligations  imposed  on  the  company  was  the 
stipulation  to  introduce  into  the  province  of  Louisiana  within 
the  period  of  their  chartered  privileges,  six  thousand  white 
persons,  and  three  thousand  negro  slaves,  and  to  protect  the 
settlements  against  Indian  hostilities.  It  was  vainly  hoped  on. 
the  part  of  France  that  the  western  company  would  exert  a 
powerful  influence  in  colonizing  the  vast  regions  of  the  Mis 
sissippi  valley,  while  the  company  looked  forward  to  certain 
inexhaustible  sources  of  wealth  in  the  exclusive  privileges 
thus  granted  to  them,  although  the  field  of  their  operations 
•was  yet  a  savage  wilderness. 

With  this  company  Law  associated  the  Bank  of  France ; 
their  operations,  their  interests  were  intimately  blended ;  the 
extravagant  issues  of  paper  by  the  bank  were  in  a  great  mea 
sure  founded  on  the  new  shares  from  time  to  time  created  in 
the  "Mississippi  Company;"  and  the  stupendous  project  was 
formed  to  pay  off  the  public  debt  in  bank  bills,  to  absorb 
which,  new  shares  in  the  company,  under  its  new  name  of  the 
"Company  of  the  Indies,"  were  to  be  created  and  offered  for 
sale.  The  stock  originally  consisted  of  200,000  shares,  at  500 
livres  each.  On  the  4th  of  September,  1718,  the  farm  of  to- 


1  Martin's  Louisiana,  vol.  i.  200. 
VOL.  I.— 6 


82  HISTORY  OF  WISCONSIN. 

bacco  was  made  over  to  this  company;  three  months  after 
ward  it  acquired  the  charter  and  property  of  the  Senegal 
Company;  in  May,  1719,  it  obtained  from  the  regent  a  mo 
nopoly  of  trade  with  the  East  Indies,  China,  and  the  South 
Seas :  thus  enlarged,  the  company  abandoned  its  original 
name  of  the  "Company  of  the  West,"  and  assumed  that  of 
the  "  Company  of  the  Indies,"  at  the  same  time  creating 
50,000  additional  shares  at  an  increased  price.  In  July,  1719, 
the  "Mint"  was  made  over  to  the  Company  of  the  Indies  ;  in 
August  following  the  farming  of  the  whole  taxes  of  the  nation 
was  purchased  by  the  company,  and  the  privilege  of  receiving 
other  branches  of  the  revenue  quickly  followed ;  so  that  before 
the  end  of  the  year  1719,  the  Company  of  the  Indies  had  in 
corporated  within  itself  nearly  all  the  commercial  enterprise 
of  the  nation.  As  director  and  manager  of  the  two  great  na 
tional  institutions,  the  Royal  Bank  and  the  colossal  trading 
company  called  the  Company  of  the  Indies,  united  in  Feb 
ruary,  1720 — Law,  the  founder  of  both,  became  the  most  pow 
erful  man  in  France;  he  had  now  made  himself  a  Catholic, 
and  was  appointed  comptroller-general  of  finance.1 

One  among  the  first  of  the  operations  of  the  Western  Com 
pany  was  to  send  eight  hundred  emigrants  to  Louisiana;  they 
arrived  in  August,  1718,  at  Dauphine  Island.  Bienville  had, 
in  the  midsummer  of  the  same  year,  selected  the  site  for  the 
capital  of  the  new  empire,  which,  in  honour  of  the  Regent  of 
France,  he  named  "New  Orleans."  Of  the  recent  emigrants 
from  France,  eighty  convicts  were  sent  among  the  coppices 
that  overspread  New  Orleans,  to  prepare  room  for  a  few  tents 
and  cottages.  At  the  end  of  three  years  the  place  was  still  a 
wilderness  spot,  where  two  hundred  persons,  sent  to  construct 
3  city,  had  but  encamped  among  unsubdued  canebrakes.2  The 
character  of  the  emigration  was  not  that  of  industry,  energy, 
or  of  information  :  some  perished  for  want  of  enterprise,  some 
from  the  climate  ;  and  in  place  of  ascending  the  river  in  ships, 
they  all  blindly  disembarked  on  the  miserable  coast,  to  make 

i  See  Note  E.  *  Bancroft,  vol.  iii.  352. 


VALLEY   OF  THE    MISSISSIPPI.  83 

their  way  as  best  they  could  to  the  lands  that  had  been  ceded 
to  them.  An  extraordinary  instance  of  energy  may  be  men 
tioned:  Du  Tissenet,  a  Canadian  emigrant,  having  purchased 
a  compass,  and  procured  an  escort  of  fourteen  Canadians, 
went  fearlessly  from  Dauphine  Island  by  way  of  the  Mobile 
River  to  Quebec,  and  returned  to  the  banks  of  the  Mississippi 
with  his  family.1  '  At  this  period  the  three  great  avenues  from 
the  St.  Lawrence  to  the  Mississippi  were,  one  by  way  of  the 
Fox  and  Wisconsin  Rivers  :  one  by  way  of  Chicago,  which  had 
been  safely  pursued  since  the  days  of  Marquette ;  and  one  by 
the  Miami  of  the  Lakes,  where,  after  crossing  the  portage  of 
three  leagues  over  the  summit  level,  a  shallow  stream  led  into 
the  Wabash  and  the  Ohio. 

The  bubbles  of  the  Bank,  and  of  the  Mississippi  scheme, 
were  at  their  full-blown  height  in  January,  1720  :  at  that  time 
shares  in  the  company,  which  were  originally  worth  500  livres, 
were  selling  at  10,000  livres  each.  In  March,  a  decree  of 
council  fixed  the  value  of  the  stock  at  9,000  livres  for  500,  and 
forbade  certain  corporations  to  invest  money  in  any  thing  else; 
all  circulation  of  gold  and  silver,  except  for  change,  was  pro 
hibited  ;  all  payments  must  be  made  in  paper,  except  for  sums 
under  ten  livres.  He  who  would  attempt  to  convert  a  bill 
into  specie,  would  have  exposed  his  specie  to  forfeiture  and 
himself  to  fines.  Confidence  suddenly  disappeared,  and  in 
May,  bankruptcy  was  avowed,  by  a  decree  which  reduced  the 
value  of  bank-notes  by  a  moiety.  The  French*  people  had  re 
mained  faithful  to  their  delusion,  till  France  was  impoverished, 
public  and  private  credit  subverted,  the  income  of  capitalists 
annihilated,  and  labour  left  without  employment }  while  in  the 
midst  of  the  universal  wretchedness  of  the  middling  class,  a 
few  wary  speculators  gloried  in  the  unjust  acquisition  and  en 
joyment  of  immense  wealth.2 

The  downfall  of  Law  abruptly  curtailed  expenditures  for 
Louisiana.  But  a  colony  was  already  planted,  destined  to 
survive  all  dangers,  even  though,  in  France,  Louisiana  was  in- 

1  Bancroft,  iii.  352.    Du  Pratz,  vol.  i.  40.  2  Bancroft,  vol.  iii.  357. 


84  HISTORY  OF  WISCONSIN. 

volved  in  disgrace.  Instead  of  the  splendid  visions  of  opu 
lence,  the  disenchanted  public  would  now  see  only  unwhole 
some  marshes,  which  were  the  tombs  of  immigrants ;  its  name 
was  a  name  of  disgust  and  terror.  Although  a  change  had 
taken  place  in  the  fortunes  of  the  Mississippi  Company  by  its 
connection  with  the  Bank  of  Law,  its  first  attempts  at  colo 
nization  were  conducted  with  careless  prodigality.  The  rich 
est  prairies,  the  most  inviting  fields  in  the  southern  valley  of 
the  Mississippi,  were  conceded  to  companies,  or  to  individuals 
who  sought  principalities  in  the  new  world.  Thus  it  was 
hoped  that  at  least  six  thousand  white  colonists  would  be 
established  in  Louisiana.  To  Law  himself  there  was  conceded 
on  the  Arkansas  one  of  those  vast  prairies  of  which  the  wide- 
spreading  waves  of  verdure  are  bounded  only  by  the  azure  of 
the  sky.  There  he  designed  to  plant  a  city  and  villages  ;  his 
investments  rapidly  amounted  to  a  million  and  a  half  of  livres ; 
through  the  company  which  he  directed,  possessing  a  monopoly 
of  the  slave-trade  for  the  French  colonies,  he  had  purchased 
three  hundred  negroes  ;  mechanics  from  France  and  a  throng 
of  German  emigrants  were  engaged  in  his  service,  or  as  his 
tenants ;  his  commissioners  lavished  gifts  on  the  tribes  with 
whom  they  smoked  the  calumet.  But  when,  in  1727,  a  Jesuit 
priest  arrived  there,  he  found  only  thirty  needy  Frenchmen, 
who  had  been  abandoned  by  their  employer,  and  had  no  con 
solation  but  in  the  blandness  of  the  climate  and  unrivalled 
fertility  of  the -soil.  The  decline  of  Louisiana  was  a  conse 
quence  of  financial  changes  in  France.1 

"The  issue  of  Law's  celebrated  system  left  the  world  a  les 
son  which  the  world  was  slow  to  learn  :  that  the  enlargement 
of  the  circulation  quickens  industry  so  long  only  as  the  en 
largement  continues,  for  prices  then  rise,  and  every  kind  of 
labour  is  remunerated ;  that  when  this  increase  springs  from 
artificial  causes,  it  must  meet  with  a  check,  and  be  followed  by 
a  reaction ;  that  when  the  reaction  begins,  the  high  remune 
rating  prices  decline,  labour  fails  to  find  an  equivalent,  and 

»  Bancroft.    Du  Poisson  in  Lett.  Ed,  IT.  235. 


VALLEY   OF   THE   MISSISSIPPI,  85 

each  evil  opposite  to  the  previous  advantage  ensues ;  that 
therefore  every  artificial  expansion  of  the  currency,  every  ex 
pansion  resting  on  credit  alone,  is  a  source  of  confusion,  and 
ultimate  loss  to  the  community,  and  brings  benefits  to  none 
but  those  who  are  skilful  in  foreseeing  and  profiting  by  the 
fluctuations."1 

Such  was  the  state  of  things  in  Louisiana  for  several  years 
after  the  downfall  of  Law,  and  his  system  of  finance  in  France 
and  French  America.  Who  then  would  have  believed  that  in 
less  than  one  hundred  and  fifteen  years  from  that  time,  the 
valley  of  the  Mississippi  would  have  been  the  theatre  of  delu 
sions  almost  as  great,  under  a  new  system  of  credit  held  out 
by  a  hundred  banking  institutions  and  chartered  monopolies, 
as  rotten  and  as  baseless  as  Law's  Bank  of  France  ?  Such 
was  the  currency  of  the  valley  of  the  Mississippi  among  five 
millions  of  people  for  four  years  after  the  year  1834.2  The 
ruinous  disasters  which  fell  on  the  whole  community,  at  that 
period,  in  consequence  of  the  sudden  inflation,  and  as  sudden 
contraction  of  a  paper  currency,  worthless  in  its  basis,  has 
not  yet,  it  appears,  proved  a  lesson  sufficiently  instructive — 
for  now,  in  1853,  in  the  region  of  the  Upper  Mississippi,  and 
the  adjacent  States,  the  renewed  experiment  of  a  paper  cur 
rency  has  obtained  favour  with  the  people ;  the  foundation  of 
the  existing  system  of  paper  issues,  apparently,  is  plausible, 
but  time,  which  is  the  parent  of  truth,  may  perhaps  once  again 
teach  that  severe  lesson  to  the  people  of  the  Mississippi  Val 
ley,  which  they  have  hitherto  been  so  slow  to  heed,  and  by  the 
effects  of  which  they  have  been  so  unwilling  to  profit. 

During  the  first  operations  of  the  "Western  company,  the 
trade  of  the  Illinois  country  (which  had  been  commenced,  al 
though  fruitlessly  by  Crozat,  in  the  establishment  of  his 
trading  posts)  began  to  assume  the  regular  channels  of  com 
merce;  and  notwithstanding  the  company  had  embarked 
largely  in  agriculture,  and  had  established  large  plantations 
on  the  river,  still  it  refused  to  abandon  the  idea  of  discover- 

»  Bancroft,  vol.  iii.  357.  a  Monette,  vol.  i.  244. 


86  HISTORY  OF  WISCONSIN. 

ing  boundless  wealth  in  the  mines  of  Missouri  and  of  the 
Illinois  country  and  Upper  Mississippi.  In  1719,  Philippe 
Francis  Renault,  «  Director-general  of  the  mines  of  Louisiana," 
•with  two  hundred  miners  and  artificers,  arrived  in  the  Illinois 
country.  This  arrival  gave  a  great  accession  to  the  French 
population,  and  introduced  many  useful  mechanics  into  the 
settlements.  Illinois  was  deemed  by  the  company  to  be  a 
region  of  mines  immensely  valuable,  which  were  to  enrich  the 
capitalists  of  Europe  :  and  although  after  much  labour  and  ex 
tensive  research,  Mr.  Renault,  with  his  company  of  two  hun 
dred  miners,  had  failed  to  discover  the  gold  and  silver  mines 
of  which  the  most  extravagant  accounts  had  been  given,  yet 
the  "Directory"  of  the  Western  Company  continued  to  offer 
munificent  rewards  for  the  much-desired  fulfilment  of  their 
expectations.  The  attention  of  the  company  continued  to  be 
diverted  to  the  search  of  mines  in  distant  regions,  as  far  as 
the  sources  of  the  St.  Peter's,  the  Arkansas,  the  tributaries  of 
the  Missouri,  and  even  to  the  Rocky  Mountains.1  Fortunately, 
the  hopes  of  the  company  concerning  the  valuable  products 
of  the  mines  were  doomed  to  disappointment,  and  the  public 
mind  was  directed  more  intensely  to  agriculture.  Mines  there 
were  of  iron,  lead,  copper,  and  perhaps  of  silver  and  gold ; 
but  they  were  reserved  for  a  race  of  men  who  were  to  live  a 
century  after  the  dissolution  of  the  company,  when  monopo 
lies  should  cease.  The  richest  mines  of  the  country,  at  this 
early  period,  were  found  in  the  prolific  and  inexhaustible  soil, 
which  was  free  to  the  industry  of  all  classes.  Thus  an  over 
ruling  Providence  shaped  the  destiny  of  the  country,  which 
was  to  become  the  granary  for  nations.2 

Le  Sueur  had,  in  April,  1700,  set  out  from  Bienville's  Fort, 
with  twenty  men,  and  Indian  guides  for  the  country  of  the 
Sioux,  high  up  the  Mississippi,  in  quest  of  mineral  wealth ; 
many  of  the  two  hundred  miners  of  Monsieur  Renault  were 
engaged  in  mining  operations,  in  1719,  on  the  east  and  west 
banks  of  the  Mississippi,  far  above  the  Wisconsin  River ;  a 

1  Martin,  vol.  i.  252.  2  Monette,  vol.  i.  161. 


VALLEY  OF   THE   MISSISSIPPI.  .gf 

period  of  near  twenty  years  had  elapsed,  and  the  belief  in 
mineral  wealth,  and  consequent  hope  of  its  discovery,  had  in 
creased  with  each  year's  advent.  In  the  mean  time,  the  exist 
ing  war  between  France  and  Spain  had  created  a  theatre  for 
hostilities  in  the  valley  of  the  Mississippi,  and  a  late  expedi 
tion  from  Santa  F£  to  the  Missouri,  although  overwhelmed 
with  disaster,  evinced  the  possibility  of  other  expeditions  by 
the  same  route  for  the  destruction  of  the  French  settlements 
in  the  Illinois  country  or  Upper  Louisiana.  To  protect  the 
French  possessions,  as  well  as  to  extend  French  claims  to  ter 
ritory,  a  chain  of  forts  was  begun,  to  keep  open  a  communica 
tion  from  the  mouth  to  the  sources  of  the  Mississippi.  Fort 
Orleans,  high  up  the  Missouri,  was  already,  in  1720,  in  pro 
gress  as  an  outpost;  the  Lower  Mississippi  had  also  been 
threatened  by  the  Spaniards,  and  it  became  apparent  to  the 
Western  Company  and  to  Bienville,  the  royal  commandant, 
that  the  western  bank  of  the  river  should  be  secured  against 
hostile  incursions.  The  complete  survey  of  the  mouth  of  the 
Mississippi,  and  all  the  passes,  bars,  and  channels  below  the 
present  site  of  New  Orleans  city,  was  made  by  M.  Pauger,  a 
royal  engineer,  and  it  was  ascertained  that  the  site  selected 
by  Bienville  might  be  made  a  commercial  port;  that  the  prac 
ticability  of  bringing  shipping  up  the  river  was  beyond  a  doubt ; 
and  the  "Directory"  of  the  Western  Company  yielded  a 
reluctant  assent  to  the  removal  of  the  company's  principal 
depot  and  their  officers  to  New  Orleans,  now  about  to  become 
the  great  commercial  port  of  the  province.1 

We  have  seen  that  Le  Sueur,  with  his  detachment,  had  already 
advanced  up  the  Mississippi,  and  up  the  St.  Peter's  River,  to  the 
Blue  Earth  River,  among  the  Sioux,  by  his  estimate,  a  distance 
of  seven  hundred  and  sixty  leagues  from  the  sea;  and  there,  at 
the  mouth  of  the  Blue  Earth  River,  having  erected  a  fort  and  a 
trading-post  for  the  company,  he,  with  all  the  usual  formalities, 
took  possession  of  the  country  in  the  name  of  his  most  Chris 
tian  majesty.2  Fort  Chartres,  one  of  the  strongest  French 

1  Martin,  vol.  i.  233.  2  i<iem. 


88  HISTORY  OF   WISCONSIN. 

posts  in  North  America,  was  commenced  at  this  time,  1720;: 
it  was  situated  on  the  east  bank  of  the  Mississippi,  ahout 
twenty-five  miles  below  Kaskaskia,  and  was  designed  as  the- 
head-quarters  of  the  commandant  of  Upper  Louisiana.1 

From  1670,  up  to  1720,  during  a  period  of  half  a  century, 
the  population  and  settlement  of  the  Upper  Illinois  country, 
and  the  vicinity  of  the  great  lakes,  was  principally  restricted 
to  the  forts  established  to  protect  the  missionaries  in  their 
operations  with  the  Indians,  and  also  the  commerce  with 
them  at  the  several  important  trading-posts.  Michillimacki- 
nac,  on  the  peninsula,  was  one  of  the  oldest  forts  erected. 
Its  foundations,  together  with  those  of  a  chapel  and  missionary 
dwelling,  were  laid  by  Father  Marquette  in  1671.  As  early 
as  1688,  the  Ottawas  and  Hurons  had  villages  in  the  vicinity 
of  the  chapel  and  fort,  separated  only  by  the  palisades.  Near 
the  Huron  village,  the  Jesuits  had  a  college,  rnd  the  Ottawas 
had  commenced  building  a  fortification  in  their  proximity. 
Other  fortified  posts,  in  this  period,  had  been  established  at 
Green  Bay,  at  Chicago,  at  St.  Joseph's,  at  Sault  St.  Marie, 
and  at  Detroit.  The  population  of  these  posts  was  composed, 
of  a  commander,  who  was  called  Governor,  Jesuits,  soldiers, 
traders,  and  savages ;  the  fort  and  chapel  were  surrounded 
with  small  patches  of  cultivated  land,  and  the  wigwams  of  the 
Indians.  In  1689,  Green  Bay  contained  a  fort,  chapel,  and 
missionary  house,  which  were  situated  amid  the  villages  of  the 
Sacs,  Potawatamies,  and  Menominees.2  This  place  was  at 
that  time  a  rich  market  for  peltries  and  Indian  corn,  which 
the  savages  sold  to  the  traders  as  they  passed  to  and  from  the 
Mississippi. 

The  English  and  French  had  long  embarked  as  rivals  in, 
the  trade  with  the  Indians  of  the  Northwest ;  the  influence  of 
the  French  over  these  tribes  had  not  altogether  prevented  the 
introduction  of  the  English  trade.  As  early  as  1686,  a  trading 
expedition  of  the  English  had  arrived  at  Michillimackinac, 
through  the  connivance  of  the  Ottagamies  or  Fox  Indians^, 

i  See  Note  F.  2  Lanman,  p.  39.     La  Hontan,  vol.  i.  105. 


VALLEY  OF  THE   MISSISSIPPI.  89 

who  then  occupied  the  banks  of  the  Detroit  River.  These 
tribes  had  been  for  a  long  time  unfriendly  to  the  French,  and 
the  English  had  exercised  their  policy  to  strengthen  the 
friendship  of  the  Foxes  for  their  own  cause,  by  frequent  mes 
sages  and  valuable  presents.  At  that  period,  no  permanent 
settlement  had  been  made  at  Detroit,  and,  regarded  as  it  was, 
by  both  nations,  as  a  most  valuable  point,  commanding  a  broad 
tract  of  country  across  the  peninsula  even  to  the  Mississippi, 
and  furnishing  a  direct  channel  of  navigation  to  the  whole 
country  bordering  the  lower  lakes,  the  establishment  of  a/ 
military  post  there  was  eagerly  sought  by  both  the  English 
and  French.  We  have  seen  that,  in  this  matter,  the  latter, 
under  La  Motte  Cadillac,  anticipated  their  rival,  although  the 
measure  was  strongly  opposed  by  the  Iroquois,  in  the  great 
council  held  at  Montreal,  where  the  claims  to  the  country, 
and  the  wishes  of  the  two  rival  nations  were  discussed,  as 
well  as  their  respective  relations  to  the  several  Indian  tribes. 
At  this  council,  the  Iroquois  alleged  that  the  country  belonged 
to  them,  and  that  they  had,  before  that  time,  prohibited  the 
English  from  erecting  a  fort,  or  making  an  establishment  at 
Detroit ;  nevertheless  Cadillac  persisted  in  his  design,  and 
succeeded. 

At  this  time,  the  influence  of  France  was  unbounded  over 
all  the  Indian  nations  and  tribes  in  the  valleys  of  the  Mis 
sissippi  and  of  the  St.  Lawrence,  except  the  Iroquois,  or 
Five  Nations  in  the  latter,  and  the  "  implacable  Foxes"  on 
the  borders  of  Green  Bay.  The  unrelenting  hostility  of  the 
Iroquois  confederacy  to  the  French,  had  been  such,  that  the 
greater  portion  of  the  country  south  of  the  great  lakes  and 
along  the  Ohio  River,  was  imperfectly  known  for  near  forty 
years  after  the  first  exploration  of  the  Mississippi.  The  Eng 
lish  had  always  claimed  jurisdiction  over  the  Five  Nations ; 
and  although  the  French  had  ever  disputed  the  validity  of 
the  claim,  yet  the  Treaty  of  Utrecht,  even  in  referring  to 
the  "  Five  Nations  subject  to  England,"  did  not  fix  boundaries 
or  limits  to  the  country  of  the  Iroquois.  At  the  period  of 
that  treaty,  the  Five  Nations,  Senecas,  Cayugas,  Onondagas, 


90  HISTORY  OF   WISCONSIN. 

Oneidas,  and  Mohawks,  received  into  their  confederacy  an  ad 
dition  of  another  nation.  The  Tuscaroras,  once  a  formidable 
tribe,  had  been  embroiled  with  the  English  in  North  Carolina, 
and  their  power  having  been  weakened,  and  their  tribe  divided 
by  British  intrigue,  the  hostile  party  left  their  country,  the 
western  part  of  North  Carolina,  and  joined  their  kindred  in 
the  western  part  of  New  York.  They  arrived  there  late  in 
the  summer  of  1713,  and  having  been  welcomed  by  the  con 
federates,  they  settled  in  the  vicinity  of  Oneida  Lake,  and 
were  adopted  into  the  confederacy  as  the  sixth  nation.  From 
this  time  the  confederacy  was  known  as  the  "Six  Nations."1 
The  Ottagamies,  or  Fox  Indians,  who  resided  along  the 
banks  of  the  Detroit  River,  were  of  Iroquois  descent,  and, 
adhering  to  the  English  cause,  soon  made  their  power  known, 
and  severely  felt,  against  the  French  settlements.  Even  the 
Ottawas,  the  fast  friends  of  the  French,  were  induced  to  at 
tempt  the  destruction  of  Detroit,  during  the  third  year  after 
It  was  founded.  A  number  of  Ottawa  chiefs  had  visited  Al 
bany  on  an  invitation  from  the  English,  by  whom  they  were 
persuaded  that  the  French  settlements  on  the  Lakes  were  de 
signed  to  wrest  the  dominion  of  the  country  from  their  hands  ; 
and  on  their  return  home,  acting  on  this  conviction,  they  set 
fire  to  the  town.  Fortunately,  the  fire  was  extinguished  before 
any  serious  injury  was  done.2  About  the  same  time  another 
party  of  Ottawas,  returning  from  a  successful  war  expedition 
against  the  Iroquois,  paraded  themselves  in  front  of  the  fort, 
and  endeavoured  to  induce  the  other  Indians  to  join  in  its  de 
molition.  Tonti  was  then  the  French  commandant,  and  the 
Sieur  de  Vincennes  was  despatched  for  the  purpose  of  dis 
persing  the  hostile  bands.  He  succeeded  in  defeating  and 
putting  them  to  flight.  In  their  hasty  retreat  the  Ottawas 
abandoned  their  Iroquois  prisoners,  whom  they  had  previously 
captured,  and  these  were  sent  back,  by  the  French,  to  the 
Iroquois  tribes.3 

i  Bancroft,  vol.  iii.  322.  2  Cass's  Discourse. 

3Lanman,  p.  42. 


VALLEY   OF    THE   MISSISSIPPI.  91 

It  was  in  May,  1712,  that  the  Ottagamies,  or  Foxes,  in 
secret  alliance  with  the  Iroquois,  planned  the  destruction  of 
Detroit,  and  laid  siege  to  the  place.  They  were  doubtless  in 
duced  to  do  this  by  the  Five  Nations,  backed  by  the  English, 
who  wished  to  destroy  this  post  and  erect  a  fort  of  their  own 
on  its  ruins.1  Du  Buisson,  the  French  commandant,  called 
in  the  aid  of  the  friendly  Indian  tribes,  who  promptly  came 
to  his  rescue.  After  the  arrival  of  the  Pottawatamies,  the 
Ottawas,  and  the  Hurons,  the  Ottagamies  retreated  to  the 
eastern  boundary  of  Detroit,  where  they  intrenched  them 
selves  within  their  camp.  The  French  erected  a  block-house 
which  commanded  their  position.  Here  they  were  attacked 
with  great  vigour,  and  cut  off  from  all  supply  of  water  by  a 
constant  fire  from  the  French  and  their  Indian  allies.  Driven 
to  despair  by  thirst  and  famine,  the  Ottagamies  rushed  from 
their  besieged  camp,  and  succeeded  in  getting  possession  of  a 
house  near  the  fort,  which  they  fortified  ;  hence  they  attacked 
the  French,  were  again  dislodged  by  the  cannon,  and  driven 
back  to  their  former  intrenchment.  Finding  their  efforts  to 
undermine  the  French  post  likely  to  be  unsuccessful,  the 
Foxes  sent  a  deputation  to  the  French  commandant,  with  pa 
cific  overtures,  in  which  no  confidence  was  placed,  and  their 
offer  of  capitulation  was  rejected.  Enraged  and  indignant  at 
what  they  deemed  an  insult,  and  under  the  influence  of  a 
determined  and  desperate  revenge,  the  Ottagamies  discharged 
showers  of  blazing  arrows  upon  the  fort ;  the  lighted  matches 
which  had  been  affixed  to  the  arrows,  coming  in  contact  with 
many  of  the  roofs  of  the  houses,  which  were  thatched  with 
straw,  kindled  them  into  flame,  until  the  precaution  was  taken 
to  cover  the  rest  with  wet  skins ;  by  that  means  they  were 
preserved.2 

Almost  discouraged  by  the  desperation  of  the  Foxes,  Mon 
sieur  Du  Buisson  had  nearly  determined  to  evacuate  the  post 
and  retire  to  Michillimackinac,  but  was  dissuaded  from  that 
act  by  his  friendly  Indians,  who  promised  redoubled  efforts  to 

1  Lanxnan,  p.  43.  2  Idem,  p.  45.     Charlevoix,  torn.  iv.  95. 


92  HISTORY   OF  WISCONSIN. 

dislodge  the  Foxes.  The  war-song  and  war-dance  being 
finished,  the  onset  upon  the  Foxes  was  recommenced  with 
increased  fury;  it  was  successful ;  the  intrenchments  were  soon 
heaped  with  the  dying  and  the  dead.  A  capitulation  was 
again  offered,  but  the  Foxes  had  previously  retreated  into  that 
portion  of  the  peninsula  of  Michigan  which  advances  into 
Lake  St.  Clair,  where  they  intrenched  themselves.  This 
abandonment  was  made  at  night,  during  a  storm,  without  dis 
covery,  and  on  the  nineteenth  day  of  the  siege. 
*  As  soon  as  their  escape  was  known,  they  were  pursued  by 
the  French  and  their  allies,  and  their  camp  was  attacked.  In 
the  first  action  the  Foxes  gained  considerable  advantage,  and 
repulsed  the  French  and  Indians,  who  had  attacked  them 
without  sufficient  precaution  and  judgment.  Other  methods 
were  adopted  to  dislodge  them;  the  French  occupied  four 
days  for  that  purpose  ;  a  field  battery  was  erected,  and  the 
intrenchment  of  the  Foxes  fell,  battered  down  by  the  French 
cannon,  on  the  fifth  day  of  the  siege.  Entering  the  works  in 
arms,  the  Foxes  surrendered  at  discretion,  and  the  allies  and 
French  commenced  a  deadly  slaughter  upon  the  Foxes,  de 
stroyed  all  of  their  warriors  who  bore  arms,  while  the  rest, 
about  one  hundred  and  fifty,  besides  the  women  and  children, 
whose  lives  they  spared,  were  divided  as  slaves  among  the 
French  confederates  ;  but  they  did  not  keep  them  as  such  any 
length  of  time,  for  they  were  all  massacred  before  they  sepa 
rated.  The  loss  of  the  allies  amounted  to  sixty  men  killed  and 
wounded ;  the  Hurons,  among  whom  were  twenty-five  Iroquois 
Christians,  distinguished  themselves  more  than  the  others,  and 
lost  more  men.  But  this  expedition  cost  the  Ottagamies  more 
than  two  thousand  of  their  tribe.1 

The  Foxes,  more  enraged  than  enfeebled  by  their  great  loss 
thus  sustained  in  their  ineffectual  attempt  to  destroy  Detroit, 
collected  their  scattered  bands  on  the  Fox  River  of  Green 
Bay ;  this  was  their  natural  country,  and  they  filled  it  with 


1  Lamnan,  p.  45.     Cass's  Discourse.  Cbarlevoix,  tom.  iv.  p.  94-105.     Doc. 
Hist.,  Dubuisson's  Account. 


VALLEY  OF   THE   MISSISSIPPI.  93 

Butcheries,  and  robberies,  of  all  travellers  on  the  routes  from 
the  Lakes  to  the  Mississippi,  thereby  cutting  off  all  safe  com 
munication  between  Canada  and  Louisiana.  With  the  excep 
tion  of  the  Sioux,  who  were  often  associated  with  them,  and 
the  Iroquois,  with  whom  they  were  allied,  all  the  nations  who 
were  on  friendly  and  commercial  terms  with  the  French,  suf 
fered  greatly  by  their  devastations  ;  and  it  was  feared  that  if 
a  speedy  remedy  was  not  taken,  the  greater  number  of  the 
Indian  tribes  would  become  reconciled  with  the  Foxes,  to  the 
prejudice  of  the  French.1 

This  consideration  induced  the  Marquis  de  Vaudreuil,  then 
the  Governor  of  Canada,  in  1714,  to  propose  a  union  of  the 
tribes  with  the  French,  in  an  expedition  to  exterminate  the 
common  enemy.  The  consent  of  the  Indians  having  been  ob 
tained,  a  party  of  French  was  raised,  and  the  command  given 
to  Monsieur  de  Louvigny.  A  number  of  savages  joined  him 
on  his  route,  and  he  soon  found  himself  at  the  head  of  eight 
hundred  men,  all  resolved  not  to  lay  down  their  arms  while 
an  Ottagamie  remained  in  Canada.  Every  one  believed  that 
the  Fox  nation  was  about  to  be  destroyed,  and  so  they  them 
selves  judged,  when  they  saw  the  storm  gathering  against 
them ;  they  therefore  determined  to  sell  their  lives  as  dear  as 
possible.2 

The  Foxes  had  selected  a  stronghold  on  the  Fox  River,  now- 
known  as  the  "Butte  des  Morts,"  or  Hill  of  the  Dead;  here, 
more  than  five  hundred  warriors  and  three  thousand  women 
had  shut  themselves  up  in  a  sort  of  fort,  surrounded  by  three 
ranges  of  oak  palisades,  with  a  ditch  in  the  rear.  Three  hun 
dred  men  were  on  the  route  to  reinforce  them,  but  they  did 
not  arrive  in  time.  De  Louvigny,  finding  them  thus  strongly 
intrenched,  attacked  them  in  form ;  he  had  two  field-pieces 
and  a  grenade  mortar ;  the  trenches  were  opened  thirty-five 
toises  from  the  fort,  and  on  the  third  day  he  was  only  twelve 
toises  distant,  when  the  besieged  made  a  great  attack  by  firing 
on  the  French.  De  Louvigny  was  preparing  to  undermine 

1  Charlevoix,  torn.  iv.  155.  2  Idem. 


94  HISTORY   OP   WISCONSIN. 

the  works,  when  the  Foxes  proposed  terms  of  capitulation,, 
which  were  finally  acceded  to ;  a  treaty  of  peace  was  to  be 
made  between  the  Foxes,  and  the  French,  and  their  Indian  al 
lies  ;  all  their  prisoners  were  to  be  given  up  at  once ;  the  dead 
were  to  be  replaced  by  slaves,  which  the  Foxes  were  to  obtain 
from  the  neighbouring  nations  with  whom  they  were  at  war. 
The  expenses  of  the  war  were  to  be  paid  from  the  products  of 
the  chase,  by  the  Foxes,  and  their  country  was  to  be  ceded  to  the 
French.  Six  hostages,  chiefs  or  sons  of  chiefs,  were  delivered 
to  De  Louvigny,  to  insure  the  sending  of  deputies  to  Montreal, 
to  perfect  the  treaty  with  the  governor-general,  according  to 
these  terms ;  three  of  these  hostages  afterward,  in  1716,  died 
at  Montreal  of  the  small  pox ;  and  De  Vaudreuil,  fearful  that 
the  treacherous  Ottagamies  would  not  carry  the  whole  terms 
of  the  treaty  into  effect,  sent  De  Louvigny  to  Michillimacki- 
nac,  with  orders  to  have  the  treaty  fully  executed,  and  to 
bring  back  with  him  the  chiefs  of  that  nation  to  Montreal. 

In  May,  1717,  De  Louvigny  arrived  at  Michillimackinac 
with  one  of  the  hostages,  who  had  been  attacked  with  the 
small  pox,  as  the  others,  and  had  lost  an  eye  by  it.  As  soon 
as  he  arrived,  De  Louvigny  sent  this  chief  to  the  Ottagamies, 
with  presents  to  cover  the  dead,  and  accompanied  by  two  French 
interpreters.  They  were  well  received,  the  calumet  was 
smoked,  and  after  some  days  spent  in  grieving  for  the  dead, 
the  chiefs  met  to  listen  to  the  hostage.  He  represented  all 
matters  in  a  proper  manner,  and  reproached  the  chiefs  for  not 
having  repaired  to  Michillimackinac.1 

The  chiefs  said,  they  were  sensible  of  the  kindness  which 
Ononthio2  continued  to  show  them ;  excused  themselves  for 
not  having  already  sent  deputies  in  regard  to  fulfilling  the 
treaty ;  and  promised  to  comply  with  their  word  the  following 
year,  giving  this  promise  in  writing,  and  adding  that  they 
would  never  forget  that  they  held  their  lives  as  the  gift  of 
their  great  father.  The  hostage  came  away  with  the  inter- 


1  Charlevoix,  torn.  iv.  157,  158. 

2  The  governor-general  was  so  called  by  all  the  tribes. 


VALLEY  OF    THE    MISSISSIPPI.  95 

preters,  to  rejoin  De  Louvigny  at  Michillimackinac ;  but 
after  traveling  about  twenty  leagues,  he  left  them,  saying  it 
was  necessary  he  should  return  to  oblige  his  nation  to  keep 
their  word. 

Nothing  further  was  heard  of  him ;  the  Foxes  did  not  send 
deputies  to  the  governor-general;  and  although  he  flattered 
himself  for  a  long  time  that  they  would  do  so,  he  was  only 
taught  by  the  renewal  of  their  old  courses  by  the  Ottagamies, 
that  an  enemy  driven  to  a  certain  point  is  always  irreconcila 
ble.1  It  is  true  that  their  pride  was  greatly  humbled,  and 
that  in  a  few  years  afterward  they  abandoned  their  old  homes, 
and  retired  to  the  western  side  of  the  Mississippi ;  but  in  the 
mean  while  many  battles  were  fought  with  them,  while  they, 
on  their  own  part,  had  obliged  the  Illinois  to  abandon  their 
river  for  ever ;  although,  after  repeated  defeats,  it  could 
scarcely  be  conceived  that  there  remained  enough  of  the 
Foxes  to  form  a  trifling  village,  yet  no  one  ventured  to  go 
from  Canada  to  Louisiana,  without  taking  great  precaution 
against  their  surprises.  "The  engagements  in  which  they 
were  defeated  at  Butte  des  Morts  and  on  the  Wisconsin  River, 
and  finally  driven  beyond  the  Mississippi,  in  1746,  left  the 
entire  country  in  possession  of  the  French  and  their  allies, 
the  Chippewas,  Menomonies,  Winnebagoes,  and  Pottawa- 
tamies.2 

A  second  expedition  was  fitted  out  against  these  implacable 
Foxes,  in  1728,  by  the  Marquis  de  Beauharnois,  then  gover 
nor-general,  which,  although  numerous  and  well  equipped, 
resulted  in  nothing  more  than  the  destruction  of  the  villages 
and  plantations  of  the  tribe,  from  Green  Bay  to  the  head  of 
the  Fox  River  ;  the  Indians  having  retired  in  time,  before  the 
approach  of  an  overwhelming  force,  which,  strange  to  say, 
had  serious  expectations  of  taking  them  by  surprise. 

The  force  was  placed  under  the  command  of  Monsieur  de 
Lignerie,  and  consisted  of  four  hundred  Frenchmen,  to  whom 
were  joined  between  eight  and  nine  hundred  Indians,  princi- 

1  Charlevoix,  torn.  iv.  159.  2  Martin's  Hist.  Disc.  1851. 


96  HISTORY   OF   WISCONSIN. 

pally  Iroquois,  Hurons,  Nipissings,  and  Ottawas.  They  com 
menced  their  march  on  the  5th  of  June,  1728,  and  ascended 
the  Ottawa  River,  thence  descended  a  river  to  Lake  Nipissing, 
and  passing  over  the  lake,  descended  by  French  River  to 
Lake  Huron.  Hence  the  army  proceeded  to  Michillimackinac, 
which  place  they  left  on  the  10th  of  August,  and  crossing 
Lake  Michigan,  ascended  Green  Bay  on  the  western  coast, 
and  arrived  at  the  mouth  of  Fox  River,  where  the  French 
then  had  a  garrisoned  fort.  The  village  of  the  Saukies,  on  the 
eastern  side  of  the  Fox  River,  had  been  abandoned,  as  might 
have  been  expected,  notwithstanding  (as  the  relator  of  the 
expedition  naively  says)  "the  precautions  that  had  been 
taken  to  conceal  our  arrival."  As  the  expedition  proceeded 
up  the  river,  they  found  all  the  villages  deserted,  and  were 
obliged  to  content  themselves  with  burning  wigwams,  destroy 
ing  fields  of  Indian  corn,  and  burning  at  a  slow  fire  one  old 
Indian  captive.  Having  passed  Lake  Winnebago,  they  as 
cended  the  river  to  the  last  stronghold  of  the  enemy,  "  situ 
ate  on  the  borders  of  a  small  river  which  empties  into  another 
called  the  Ouisconsin,  and  found  no  person  there."  Here, 
after  destroying  the  fields  of  corn,  the  expedition  terminated, 
and  the  troops  returned  to  Montreal.1 

Although  at  this  period  no  agricultural  settlements  of  any 
extent  had  been  made  north  of  the  Illinois  River,  and  west  of 
Lake  Michigan,  yet  the  country  below  the  mouth  of  the  Illinois 
continued  steadily  to  improve.  As  early  as  the  year  1705,  trad 
ers  and  hunters  had  penetrated  the  fertile  regions  of  the  Wa- 
bash,  and  from  this  region,  at  this  early  date,  fifteen  thousand 
hides  and  skins  had  been  collected  and  sent  to  Mobile,  for  the 
European  market.  In  the  year  1716,  the  French  population  on 
the  Wabash  had  become  sufficiently  numerous  to  constitute  an 
important  settlement,  which  kept  up  a  lucrative  trade  with 
Mobile,  by  means  of  traders  and  voyageurs.2  The  Ohio  River 
was  comparatively  unknown,  as  all  that  portion  of  it  below 
the  mouth  of  the  Wabash  was  designated  as  a  continua- 

JNote  G.  2  Martin's  Louisiana,  vol.  i.  168. 


VALLEY  OF  THE   MISSISSIPPI.  97 

tion  of  the  latter  river.  In  1746,  agriculture  on  the  Wa- 
bash  was  still  flourishing,  and  the  same  year,  six  hundred 
"barrels  of  flour  were  manufactured  and  shipped  to  the  city 
of  New  Orleans,  besides  large  quantities  of  hides,  peltry,  tal 
low,  and  bees'  wax.1  In  the  Illinois  country,  also,  the  settle 
ments  continued  to  increase,  so  that,  in  1730,  they  embraced 
one  hundred  and  forty  French  families,  besides  about  six  hun 
dred  converted  Indians,  many  traders,  voyageurs,  and  couriers 
du  bois.  In  1751,  the  "Illinois  country,"  east  of  the  Upper 
Mississippi,  contained  six  distinct  settlements,  with  their  re 
spective  villages.  These  were  :  1.  Cahokia,  near  the  mouth 
of  Cahokia  Creek,  and  nearly  five  miles  below  the  present  site 
of  St.  Louis  ;  2.  St.  Philip,  forty-five  miles  below  the  last,  and 
four  miles  above  Fort  Chartres  on  the  east  side  of  the  Missis 
sippi  ;  3.  Fort  Chartres,  on  the  east  bank  of  the  Mississippi, 
twelve  miles  above  Kaskaskia;  4.  Kaskaskia,  situated  upon 
the  Kaskaskia  River,  five  miles  above  its  mouth,  upon  a  penin 
sula,  and  within  two  miles  of  the  Mississippi  River;  5.  Prairie 
du  Rocher,  near  Fort  Chartres ;  6.  St.  Genevieve,  on  the 
west  side  of  the  Mississippi,  and  about  one  mile  from  its 
bank,  upon  Gabarre  Creek.  These  are  among  the  oldest  towns 
in  what  was  long  known  as  the  "  Illinois  country."  Kaskas 
kia,  in  its  best  days  under  the  French  regimen,  was  quite  a 
large  town,  containing  two  or  three  thousand  inhabitants.  But 
after  it  passed  from  the  crown  of  France,  its  population  for 
many  years  did  not  exceed  fifteen  hundred  souls.  Under 
British  dominion,  the  population,  in  1773,  had  decreased  to 
four  hundred  and  sixty  souls.2 

A  different  picture  from  this  prosperity  was  presented  in 
the  instance  of  the  French  settlement  among  the  Natchez,  ont 
the  banks  of  the  Lower  Mississippi.  The  nation  of  the 
Natchez  is  now  extinct ;  their  very  language  is  at  this  day  a 
matter  of  vague  conjecture.  Their  villages  were  planted  in  the 
midst  of  the  most  fertile  climes  of  the  South-west,  and  each 
was  distinguished  by  its  sacred  building,  serving  as  a  recep- 

1  Martin's  Louisiana,  vol.  i.  316.  2  Monette,  vol.  i.  167. 

VOL.  I.-7 


98  HISTORY   OF   WISCONSIN. 

tacle  for  the  dead.  In  this  temple  were  gathered  the  fetiches 
of  the  tribe,  surrounded  by  the  bones  of  the  dead  ;  and  there 
an  undying  fire  was  kept  burning  by  appointed  guardians,  as 
if  to  warm,  and  light,  and  cheer  the  departed.  The  nation 
was  divided  into  nobles  and  plebeians,  and  the  grand  chief  of 
the  tribe  could  trace  his  descent  with  certainty  from  the  no 
bles,  and  was  revered  as  of  the  family  of  the  sun.  The  in 
heritance  of  sovereignty  was  transmitted  exclusively  by  the 
female  line,  and  the  power  of  the  grand  chieftain  was  nearly 
despotic.  The  race  of  nobles  was  so  distinct,  that  usage  had 
moulded  language  into  forms  of  reverence.  In  other  respects 
their  manners  hardly  differed  from  those  of  northern  tribes, 
except  as  they  were  modified  by  climate.1 

The  French  who  were  cantoned  among  the  Natchez  coveted 
their  soil,  and  their  commander,  Chopart,  with  brutal  avarice, 
demanded,  as  a  plantation,  the  very  site  of  their  principal 
village.  The  Natchez  took  counsel  of  their  friends,  the 
Chickasas,  and  a  portion  of  the  Choctas,  and  a  general  mas 
sacre  of  the  intruders  was  concerted.  On  the  morning  of  the 
28th  of  November,  1729,  the  work  of  blood  began,  and  before 
noon,  nearly  every  Frenchman  in  the  colony  was  murdered. 
The  Great  Sun,  taking  his  seat  under  the  storehouse  of  the 
company,  smoked  the  calumet  in  complacency,  while  the  head 
of  Chopart  was  laid  at  his  feet.  One  after  another,  the  heads 
of  the  principal  officers  at  the  post  were  ranged  in  order 
around  it,  while  their  bodies  were  left  abroad  to  be  a  prey  to 
dogs  and  buzzards.2 

The  news  spread  dismay  in  New  Orleans,  each  house  was 
supplied  with  arms,  and  the  city  was  fortified  by  a  ditch. 
Danger  appeared  on  every  side,  and  the  negroes,  of  whom  the 
number  was  about  two  thousand,  half  as  large  as  the  number 
of  the  French,  showed  symptoms  of  revolt.  The  brave  and 
enterprising  Le  Sueur  repaired  to  the  Choctas,  won  them  to 
his  aid,  and  was  followed  across  the  country  by  seven  hundred 


1  Bancroft,  vol.  iii.  359. 

2  Idem. 


VALLEY   OF   THE  MISSISSIPPI.  99 

of  their  warriors ;  the  French  forces  were  assembled  on  the 
river,  and  placed  under  the  command  of  Loubois. 

Le  Sueur  was  the  first  to  arrive  in  the  vicinity  of  the  Nat 
chez,  who,  not  expecting  an  attack,  were  celebrating  festivi 
ties  gladdened  by  the  spoils  of  the  French.  Exulting  in  their 
success,  they  gave  themselves  up  to  sleep,  and  on  the  morning 
of  the  29th  of  January,  1730,  the  Choctas  attacked  their  vil 
lages,  liberated  their  captives,  and  losing  only  two  of  their 
own  men,  brought  oft'  sixty  scalps,  with  eighteen  prisoners.1 

On  the  8th  of  February,  1730,  Loubois  arrived  and  com 
pleted  the  victory.  Some  of  the  Natchez  fled  to  the  neigh 
bouring  tribes  for  shelter  ;  the  remainder  of  the  nation  crossed 
the  Mississippi  to  the  vicinity  of  the  Natchitoches.  They 
were  pursued,  and,  partly  by  stratagem,  partly  by  force,  their 
place  of  refuge  was  taken.  Some  fled  still  further  to  the 
west,  and  of  the  scattered  remnants,  some  remained  with  the 
Chickasas,  others  found  a  shelter  among  the  Muskhogees. 
The  Great  Sun,  and  more  than  four  hundred  prisoners,  were 
shipped  to  Hispaniola  and  sold  as  slaves. 

Thus  perished  the  nation  of  the  Natchez.  Their  peculiar 
language — which  has  been  still  preserved  by  the  descendants 
of  the  fugitives,  and  is,  perhaps,  now  on  the  point  of  expiring 
— their  worship,  their  division  into  nobles  and  plebeians,  their 
bloody  funeral  rites — invite  conjecture,  and  yet,  so  nearly  re 
semble  in  character  the  distinctions  of  other  tribes,  that  they 
do  but  irritate  without  satisfying  curiosity.2 

The  "  Company  of  the  Indies"  having  found  that  the  cost 
of  defending  Louisiana  greatly  exceeded  the  returns  from  its 
commerce,  and  from  the  grants  of  land,  sought  wealth  by 
conquest  or  traffic  on  the  coast  of  Guinea  and  Hindostan, 
and  solicited  leave  to  surrender  the  Mississippi  wilderness. 
Accordingly,  on  the  10th  of  April,  1732,  the  jurisdiction  and 
control  over  its  commerce  reverted  to  the  crown  of  France. 
The  company  had  held  possession  of  Louisiana  for  fourteen 
years,  which  were  its  only  years  of  comparative  prosperity. 

'Bancroft,  vol.  i.  363.  2 Idem. 


100  HISTORY   OF  WISCONSIN. 

The  early  extravagant  hopes  had  not  subsided  till  emigrants 
had  reached  its  soil,  and  the  emigrants,  being  once  established,, 
took  care  of  themselves.  In  1735,  Bienville  reappeared  to 
assume  the  command  for  the  king.1 

To  secure  the  eastern  valley  of  the  Mississippi,  and  protect 
the  connection  between  the  Illinois  country  and  New  Orleans, 
it  became  necessary  to  reduce  the  Chickasas,  who  had  ever 
been  the  dreaded  enemies  of  France.  This  nation  had  ex 
cited  the  Natchez  to  bloodshed  and  destruction ;  they  main 
tained  their  savage  independence,  and  no  settlements  on  the 
eastern  bank  of  the  Mississippi  were  safe  from  their  depreda 
tions.  Resolute  in  their  hatred,  they  had  even  endeavoured 
to  debauch  the  affections  of  the  Illinois,  and  to  extirpate 
French  dominion  from  the  West ;  but  were  frustrated  in  their 
attempts  through  the  exertions  of  the  young  and  chivalrous 
D'Artaguette,  who  held  the  command  in  the  Illinois  country, 
and  had  convened  the  tribes  at  Fort  Chartres  in  1736. 

Bienville  summoned  the  whole  force  of  the  colony  at  the 
south,  with  D'Artaguette  and  the  troops  under  his  command 
in  Illinois,  and  probably  from  the  Wabash,  to  meet  on  the  10th 
of  May,  1736,  in  the  land  of  the  Chickasas.  The  friendly 
chiefs,  with  "  Chicago"  at  their  head,  had,  through  the  instru 
mentality  of  D'Artaguette,  descended  the  Mississippi  to  New 
Orleans,  and  presented  the  pipe  of  peace  and  friendship  to 
the  governor.  "This"  said  Chicago  to  Monsieur Perrier,  as  he 
concluded  an  alliance  offensive  and  defensive,  "this  is  the  pipe 
of  peace  or  war.  You  have  but  to  speak,  and  our  braves  will 
strike  the  nations  that  are  your  foes."2  Chicago  was  the 
Illinois  chief  from  the  shore  of  Lake  Michigan  whose  monu 
ment  was  reared,  a  century  afterward,  upon  the  site  of  his 
village,  and  whose  name  is  perpetuated  in  the  most  flourish 
ing  city  of  Illinois.3 

In  the  mean  time,  the  Choctas,  lured  by  the  gifts  of  mer 
chandise  and  high  rewards  for  every  scalp,  gathered  at  fort 
Tombecbee  to  aid  Bienville.  Of  these  red  auxiliaries  the  number 

1  Bancroft,  vol.  i.  364.  2  Idem.  3  Monette  vol.  i.  286. 


VALLEY  OF   THE   MISSISSIPPI. 

was  about  twelve  hundred,  and  the  whole  party — French  and 
Indians — arrived  and  encamped,  on  the  evening  of  the  25th  of 
May,  at  a  distance  of  a  league  from  the  great  village  of  the 
Chickasas.  In  the  morning,  before  day,  they  advanced  to 
surprise  the  enemy.  In  vain — the  brave  warriors  were  on 
the  watch,  and  their  intrenchments  wrere  strong.  English 
flags  waved  over  their  fort,  and  English  traders  had  assisted 
in  preparing  their  defence.  The  French  made  two  attempts 
during  the  day  to  storm  the  log  citadel,  and  were  each  time 
repulsed,  with  a  loss  of  thirty  killed,  of  whom  four  were  officers. 
The  next  day,  skirmishes  occurred  between  the  Chickasas  and 
Choctas ;  on  the  29th,  the  final  retreat  began ;  on  the  31st  of 
May,  Bienville  dismissed  the  Choctas,  having  satisfied  them 
with  presents,  and  throwing  his  cannon  into  the  Tombecbee, 
his  party  ingloriously  floated  down  the  river.  In  the  last  days 
of  June  he  landed  on  the  banks  of  the  Bayou  St.  John.1 

But  where  was  D'Artaguette,  the  brave  commander  in  the 
Illinois,  the  pride  of  the  flower  of  Canada  ?  And  where  was 
the  gallant  Yincennes,  whose  name,  in  honour  of  the  founder 
of  a  state,  is  borne  by  the  oldest  settlement  of  Indiana  ?2 

The  young  Artaguette  had  already  gained  glory  in  the  war 
against  the  Natchez,  and  had  been  advanced  to  the  command 
in  Illinois  ;  he  obeyed  the  summons  of  Bienville,  and  with  an 
army  of  about  fifty  French  soldiers  and  more  than  a  thousand 
red  men,  accompanied  by  Father  Senat,  and  by  the  Canadian 
Vincennes  as  his  lieutenant,  the  careful  hero  stole  cautiously 
and  unobserved  into  the  country  of  the  Chickasas,  and  on  the 
9th  of  May,  the  evening  before  the  appointed  time,  arrived  at 
the  place  of  rendezvous  among  the  sources  of  the  Yala.busha. 
Here  he  encamped,  and  waited  in  vain  for  ten  days  afterward 
for  the  arrival  of  the  army  from  below.  His  impatient  allies 
threatened  desertion,  and  he  at  length  consented  to  an  attack. 
His  measures  were  wisely  taken  ;  one  fort  was  carried,  and 
the  Chickasas  driven  from  the  cabins  which  it  protected ; 
at  the  second,  the  intrepid  youth  was  equally  successful ;  on 

i  Bancroft,  vol.  i.  366.  2  idem.  Lett.  ed.  vol.  iv.  291. 


HISTORY   OF   WISCONSIN. 

attacking  the  third  fort  he  received  one  wound,  and  then  an 
other,  and  in  the  moment  of  victory  was  disabled.  The  red 
men  from  Illinois,  dismayed  at  the  check,  fled  precipitately.  Voi- 
sin,  a  lad  of  but  sixteen  years  old,  conducted  the  retreat,  having 
the  enemy  at  his  heels  for  five-and-twenty  leagues,  marching 
forty-five  leagues  without  food,  while  his  men  carried  with 
them  such  of  the  wounded  as  could  bear  the  fatigue.  The  un 
happy  D'Artaguette  lay  weltering  in  his  blood,  and  by  his 
side  fell  others  of  his  bravest  troops.  The  Jesuit  Senat  might 
have  fled ;  he  remained  to  receive  the  last  sigh  of  the  wounded, 
regardless  of  danger,  mindful  only  of  duty.  Vincennes,  too, 
the  Canadian,  refused  to  fly,  and  shared  the  captivity  of  his 
gallant  leader.  After  the  Indian  custom,  their  wounds  were 
stanched  ;  they  were  received  into  the  cabins  of  the  Chickasas 
and  feasted  bountifully.  At  last,  when  Bienville  had  retreated, 
the  Chickasas  brought  the  captives  into  the  field;  and  while 
one  was  spared  to  relate  the  deed,  the  adventurous  D'Arta 
guette — the  faithful  Senat,  true  to  his  mission — Vincennes, 
whose  name  will  be  perpetuated  as  long  as  the  Wabash  shall 
flow  by  the  dwellings  of  civilized  man — these,  with  the  rest  of 
the  captives,  were  bound  to  the  stake  ;  and  neither  valour  nor 
pity  could  save  them  from  death  by  slow  torments  and  fire. 
Such  is  the  early  history  of  Mississippi.1 

Although  peace  was  sued  for  by  the  Chickasas,  and  granted 
in  1740,  yet  the  communication  between  the  lower  country 
and  the  Illinois  was  still  interrupted,  as  the  Chickasas  re 
mained  the  undoubted  lords  of  their  territory,  and  in  all  the 
expanse  of  country  claimed  by  France,  her  jurisdiction  was 
little  more  than  a  name.  For  more  than  half  a  century  after 
the  first  attempt  at  colonization  by  La  Salle,  the  valley  of 
the  Mississippi  was  still  a  wilderness.  Its  whole  population, 
may  have  been  five  thousand  whites,  and  half  that  number 
of  blacks.  Its  fortunes  had  been  fostered  by  the  liberal  ex 
penditures  of  two  monarchs — Louis  XIV.  and  XV. ;  the  opu 
lence  of  Crozat  had  been  employed  to  bring  into  effect  its  mer- 

1  Bancroft,  vol.  iii.  367,  and  authorities  there  cited. 


VALLEY  OF   THE  MISSISSIPPI.  103 

can  tile  resources  ;  the  Company  of  the  Mississippi,  aided  by  an 
almost  boundless  but  transient  credit,  had  made  it  the  founda 
tion  of  their  hopes ;  priests  and  friars,  dispersed  through  na 
tions  from  Biloxi  to  the  Dahcotas,  propitiated  the  favour  of 
the  savages ;  yet,  all  its  patrons  had  not  accomplished  for  it, 
in  half  a  century,  a  tithe  of  the  prosperity  which,  within  the 
same  period,  sprung  naturally  from  the  benevolence  of  Wil 
liam  Penn,  to  the  peaceful  settlers  on  the  Delaware.1 

From  the  earliest  advent  of  the  Jesuit  fathers,  up  to  the 
middle  of  the  eighteenth  century,  the  great  ambition  of  the 
French  was,  not  only  to  preserve  the  possession  of  all  impor 
tant  points  in  the  North-west  and  West,  but  also  to  prevent, 
in  every  possible  manner,  the  slightest  attempt  on  part  of 
the  English,  in  the  extension  of  their  settlements  toward  the 
waters  of  the  Mississippi.  "  France  was  resolved  on  possess 
ing  the  great  territory  which  her  missionaries  had  revealed  to 
the  world;"  and  French  commanders  had  avowed  the  purpose 
of  seizing  every  Englishman  within  the  Ohio  Valley.2  The 
colonies  of  Virginia,  Pennsylvania,  and  New  York  were  the 
most  affected  by  the  vast  encroachments  of  France,  in  the 
extension  of  her  dominions  in  America,  and  particularly  in 
the  great  plan  of  uniting  Canada  with  Louisiana  ;  for  this 
purpose  possession  had  been  taken  of  a  tract  of  country  claimed 
by  Virginia,  and  a  line  of  posts  had  been  commenced  by  the 
French,  extending  from  the  lakes  to  the  Ohio.  New  York 
offered  no  resistance  to  their  progress,  and  even  declined  as 
sisting  to  repel  the  French  from  a  post  which  lay  within  the 
proprietary  domain  of  Pennsylvania.3  This  state,  by  her 
legislature,  was  at  strife  with  her  proprietaries,  and  refused 
to  grant  money  or  raise  troops  to  repel  invasion,  although 
the  French  were  preparing  to  take  possession  of  all  that  part 
of  her  territory  which  lay  west  of  the  Alleghanies.  Virginia 
was  not  only  alive  to  her  own  interests,  but  attentive  to  tho 
vast  importance  of  an  immediate  and  effectual  resistance  oil 

Bancroft,  vol.  iii.  369.  2  Bancroft,  vol.  iv.  111. 

3  Smith's  New  York,  vol.  ii.  173. 


104  HISTORY  OF  WISCONSIN. 

the  part  of  all  the  English  colonists,  to  the  actual  and  con 
templated  encroachments  of  the  French. 

In  1753,  Governor  Dinwiddie,  of  Virginia,  resolved  to  send 
"a  person  of  distinction  to  the  commander  of  the  French 
forces  on  the  Ohio  River,  to  know  his  reasons  for  invading 
the  British  dominions,  while  a  solid  peace  subsisted."  The 
envoj  he  selected  was  George  Washington,  a  young  man 
then  just  twenty-one,  a  pupil  of  the  wilderness,  and  as  heroic 
as  La  Salle.1  Surmounting  all  the  difficulties  of  a  winter 
journey  over  mountains  and  through  forests,  Mr.  Washington 
met  the  French  commander,  Gardeur  de  St.  Pierre,  on  the 
head-waters  of  the  Alleghany  River,  and  having  imparted  to 
him  the  object  of  his  journey,  received  for  answer,  that  the 
French  would  not  discuss  a  matter  of  right,  but  would  con 
form  to  instructions,  part  of  which  was  to  make  prisoner  of 
every  Englishman  found  trading  on  the  Ohio,  or  the  waters 
of  it ;  that  the  country  belonged  to  the  French,  in  virtue  of 
the  discoveries  of  La  Salle,  and  that  they  would  not  withdraw 
from  it.2  In  January,  1754,  Mr.  Washington  returned  to  Vir 
ginia  and  made  his  report,  which  was  followed  by  immediate 
activity;  forces  were  raised,  and  Washington,  with  the  rank 
of  lieutenant-colonel,  was  despatched,  at  the  head  of  one  hun 
dred  and  fifty  men,  to  the  forks  of  the  Ohio,  "  to  finish  the 
fort  already  begun  there  by  the  Ohio  Company,  and  to  make 
prisoners,  kill,  or  destroy  all  who  interrupted  the  English 
settlements." 

On  his  route  through  the  forests  of  Western  Pennsylvania, 
Washington  received  information  from  friendly  Indians,  that 
the  French  forces  were  within  a  short  distance  of  his  camp ; 
in  conjunction  with  his  Mingo  friends,  the  lodgment  of  the 
French,  concealed  among  the  rocks,  was  discovered  by  Wash 
ington,  and  as  they  ran  to  seize  their  arms,  the  order  was 
given  to  fire,  and  with  his  own  musket  he  gave  the  exam 
ple.  "  That  word  of  command  kindled  the  world  into  a  flame. 
It  was  the  signal  for  the  first  great  war  of  the  revolution.'* 

1  Bancroft,  vol.  iv.  108.  2  Washington's  Report. 


VALLEY   OF   THE   MISSISSIPPI.  105 

There,  in  the  Western  forest,  began  the  battle  which  was  to 
banish  from  the  soil  and  neighbourhood  of  our  republic  the 
institutions  of  the  middle  age,  and  to  inflict  on  them  fatal 
wounds  throughout  the  continent  of  Europe.  In  repelling 
France  from  the  basin  of  the  Ohio,  Washington  broke  the  re 
pose  of  mankind,  and  waked  a  struggle  which  could  admit 
only  of  a  truce,  till  the  ancient  bulwarks  of  Catholic  legiti 
macy  were  thrown  down.1 

An  action  of  about  a  quarter  of  an  hour  ensued.  Ten  of 
the  French  were  killed — among  them  Jumonville,  the  com 
mander  of  the  party — and  twenty-one  were  made  prisoners. 
The  dead  were  scalped  by  the  Indians,  and  the  chieftain  Mona- 
cawache  bore  a  scalp,  and  a  hatchet,  to  each  of  the  tribes  of 
the  Miamis,  inviting  their  great  war-chiefs  and  braves  to  go 
hand  in  hand  with  the  Six  Nations  and  the  English. 

But  the  numbers  of  the  French  were  constantly  increasing; 
and  Washington,  after  looking  in  vain  for  succour  and  relief 
from  six  colonies,  to  whom  appeals  had  been  made,  was  com 
pelled  to  fall  back  upon  Fort  Necessity,  a  rude  stockade  at 
the  Great  Meadows.  Here  he  commenced  the  work  of  strength 
ening  his  fortification ;  but,  before  it  was  completed,  he  was 
attacked  on  the  3d  of  July,  by  Monsieur  de  Villiers,  with 
about  six  hundred  French,  and  one  hundred  Indians.  After 
losing  thirty  of  his  men,  and  being  in  every  respect  vastly 
inferior  to  the  French  in  discipline,  numbers,  and  posi 
tion,  Washington  accepted  honourable  terms  of  capitulation, 
and  on  the  fourth  of  July  the  English  garrison  withdrew  from 
the  basin  of  the  Ohio.  Thus,  in  1754,  in  the  whole  valley  of 
the  Mississippi,  to  its  head  springs  in  the  Alleghanies,  no 
Standard  floated  but  that  of  France.2 

It  had  ever  been  the  policy  of  the  French,  in  all  their  inter 
course  with  the  Indian  nations,  to  represent  the  English  as 
invaders  of  their  country,  covetous  of  their  lands,  and  under  the 
colour  of  trading  with  them  for  their  furs,  grasping  at  dominion, 
•while  they  professed  and  offered  friendship  and  protection. 

i  Bancroft.  2idem.  Vol.  iv.  118,  121 ;  Marshall's  Wash.  vol.  i.  5. 


106  HISTORY  OF   WISCONSIN. 

The  establishment  of  religious  missions,  and  even  the  erection 
of  posts  of  defence  by  the  French,  in  early  days,  did  not  so 
much  alarm  the  Indian  tribes  as  the  encroachments  of  the  culti 
vator,  whose  "  every  step  was  viewed  with  jealousy  and  hate." 
Every  inroad  on  their  hunting-grounds  was  an  aggression  and 
an  insult ;  and  although  the  intention  of  the  French,  from  the 
earliest  times,  was  undoubtedly  that  of  colonization,  yet  their 
approaches  to  that  object  were  so  much  retarded  by  adventi 
tious  circumstances,  and  apparently  restricted  to  the  Jesuit 
missions  in  the  North-west,  that  the  suspicions  of  the  Indian 
were  not  awakened,  nor  his  fears  aroused,  until  he  found  him 
self  surrounded  by  white  people  of  different  nations,  at  war 
with  each  other,  each  claiming  rights  of  trade,  rights  of  occu 
pancy,  and  each  holding  armed  possession  of  territory  which 
the  red  man  knew  to  be  his  own,  because  it  had  been  the  land 
and  the  home  of  his  ancestors.  The  almost  unbounded  influ 
ence  of  the  French  over  the  Indian  nations  of  the  basins  of 
Mississippi,  the  Ohio,  and  the  St.  Lawrence,  had,  hitherto,  in 
a  great  measure,  veiled  from  their  eyes  the  ultimate  design 
which  they  entertained  of  occupying  their  whole  country  as  a 
colony  :  and  even  the  erection  of  a  line  of  military  posts,  from 
Canada  to  Louisiana,  by  the  French,  was  regarded  by  the  In 
dians  more  as  a  necessary  protection  against  common  enemies, 
and  as  proper  points  of  trade  and  commerce  beneficial  to  them 
selves,  than  as  strongholds  of  a  power  that  might  one  day 
subjugate  their  country  and  drive  them  as  exiles  from  it. 
The  French  contented  themselves  with  an  armed,  and  forted 
occupancy  of  the  whole  West,  thereby  lulling  Indian  jealousy 
under  specious  pretences;  while  the  English,  indefatigably, 
although  slowly,  were  pushing  their  settlements  farther  and 
farther  into  the  Indian  country,  thereby  confirming  every  sus 
picion  which  had  been  instilled  into  the  minds  of  the  natives, 
that  they  were  about  to  be  deprived  of  their  hunting-grounds 
and  their  homes. 

In  1754,  France  and  England  were  professedly  at  peace  at 
home,  but  the  seeds  of  war  had  been  left  in  America  ever 
since  the  peace  of  Utrecht,  and  they  were  now  ripening.  The 


VALLEY  OF   THE   MISSISSIPPI.  107 

attack  of  "Washington  upon  Jumonville  had  been  denounced 
in  France  as  an  assassination,  and  the  use  of  this  word  in  the 
capitulation  at  the  Great  Meadows  was  regarded  as  an  ac 
knowledgment,  on  the  part  of  Washington,  that  his  attack 
on  Jumonville  was  unjustifiable.  But  this  aspersion  on  his 
character,  by  European  writers  has  been  fully  answered  by 
all  correct  authority,  and  the  mistranslation  of  the  word  assas 
sination,  to  him,  when  signing  the  terms  of  capitulation,  would 
be  a  sufficient  refutation  of  the  slander,  in  the  absence  of  any 
other.1  France  saw  fit  to  regard  this  attack  as  the  commence 
ment  of  the  war,  although  each  party  still  professed  peaceful 
intentions ;  and  negotiations  were  still  carried  on,  while  each 
power  was  making  the  most  vigorous  preparations  for  the 
conflict  which  was  evidently  approaching. 

Great  Britain  insisted  that  the  West  of  North  America 
must  be  left  as  it  was  at  the  treaty  of  Utrecht ;  France  an 
swered,  that  the  old  English  claims  in  America  were  untena 
ble,  and  offered  a  new  ground  of  compromise,  namely,  that  the 
English  should  retire  east  of  the  Alleghanies,  and  the  French 
west  of  the  Ohio.  This  offer,  after  long  consideration,  was 
agreed  to  in  March,  1755,  provided  the  French  would  destroy 
all  their  forts  on  the  Ohio  and  its  branches.  To  which,  after 
twenty  days  had  passed,  France  answered,  "No."2 

In  the  mean  while,  the  fleets  and  the  armies  of  both  powers 
were  crossing  the  Atlantic,  and  the  north  and  the  west  of  the 
American  colonial  settlements  were  designated  as  the  theatres 
of  the  coming  contests,  and  war  was  formally  declared  in  May, 
1756.  The  signal  and  unfortunate  defeat  of  General  Braddock, 
near  Fort  Du  Quesne,  on  the  banks  of  the  Monongahela,  oc 
curred  on  the  9th  of  July,  1755,  and  from  that  period  to  the  vic 
tory  of  General  Wolfe,  at  Quebec,  on  the  13th  of  September, 
1759,  various  engagements  had  taken  place  between  the  English 
and  French,  and  their  Indian  allies,  with  various  fortunes. 
At  length,  on  the  8th  of  September,  1760,  Ticonderoga, 

1  Marshall's  Wash.,  vol.  i.  6,  and  Note. 

2  Secret  Journals,  vol.  iv.  74. 


108  HISTORY  OF   WISCONSIN. 

Crown  Point,  Niagara,  and  Quebec  itself,  having  previously 
fallen,  Montreal,  Detroit,  and  all  Canada  were  given  up  to 
the  English,  by  Vaudreuil  de  Cavagnal,  the  French  governor. 
The  principal  posts  on  the  Ohio  were  in  possession  of  the 
English  at  this  time,  and,  notwithstanding  the  success  of  their 
arms,  and  their  occupation  of  the  former  strongholds  of  the 
French  in  the  North-west,  the  inimical  feelings  of  the  Indian 
tribes  were  yet  unallayed.  Distrust  of  the  British  was  general, 
and  disaffection  spread  rapidly  in  the  West,  no  doubt  fostered 
and  increased  by  the  Canadians  and  the  French. 

Although  this  war  had  been  chiefly  carried  on  east  and 
south  of  the  great  lakes,  detachments  of  the  French  had  oc 
casionally  been  levied  from  Detroit,  Green  Bay,  and  Michil- 
limackinac,  to  oppose  the  advances  of  the  English  toward 
the  Lakes.1  A  few  days  after  the  capitulation  of  Montreal, 
General  Amherst  despatched  Major  Robert  Rogers,  a  brave 
and  energetic  officer,  with  a  proper  force,  to  take  possession 
of  the  posts  at  Detroit,  Michillimackinac,  and  others  in  that 
district.  Major  Rogers  arrived  with  his  detachment  at  the 
mouth  of  the  Chogage  River,  on  the  7th  of  November,  1760 ; 
here  he  was  met  by  a  body  of  Ottawa  messengers,  who  re 
quested  him  to  halt  his  forces  until  Pontiac,  the  king  of  the 
country  he  was  in,  and  who  was  a  little  distance  off,  should 
come  up.2 

Pontiac  was  one  of  the  most  remarkable  savages  with  whom 
we  are  acquainted  in  Indian  history  ;  he  was  the  chief  of  the 
Ottawa  tribe,  claiming  to  be  the  oldest  of  the  Indian  nations 
in  this  quarter,  and  he  was  acknowledged  to  be  the  principal 
sachem  and  warrior  of  the  Algonquin  confederacy,  exercising 
the  power  and  influence  of  an  emperor,  by  which  name  he  was 
sometimes  known.3  Distinguished  for  his  noble  form,  com 
manding  address,  and  proud  demeanour,  he  acquired  the  re 
spect  and  confidence  of  all  the  Indians  in  this  region.  IE 
point  of  native  talent,  courage,  magnanimity,  and  integrity t 

'Lanman's  Michigan,  p.  85.  2Idem,  p.  91. 

3  Thatcher,  Ind.  Biog.,  vol.  ii.  84. 


VALLEY  OF   THE   MISSISSIPPI.  109 

he  will  compare,  without  prejudice,  with  the  most  renowned  of 
civilized  potentates  and  conquerors.  He  was  an  avowed  friend 
of  the  French,  and  an  enemy  to  the  English,  and  he  combined 
all  those  traits  of  character  which  distinguish  men  among 
civilized  states,  whether  in  the  forum  or  on  the  field.  He  was 
grasping  in  his  projects,  while  he  had  sufficient  dissimulation 
to  conceal  them ;  his  courage  was  unconquerable ;  his  pride 
was  the  pride  of  the  proudest  chief  of  the  proudest  nation  on 
the  earth ;  and  as  an  orator  he  was  more  remarkable  for 
pointedness  and  vigour  than  for  burning  eloquence.  He  had 
watched  with  jealousy  the  progress  of  the  English  arms,  and 
had  imbibed  a  hatred  of  the  English,  which  had  been  handed 
down  to  his  race.  He  had  seen  them  pushing  their  conquests 
through  his  country,  destroying  his  tribes,  driving  the  game 
from  his  hunting-grounds,  which  had  been  bequeathed  from 
his  forefathers,  and  crimsoning  his  land  with  the  blood  of 
his  friends  and  companions,  the  French.  He  had  fought  with 
with  the  French,  at  the  head  of  his  Indian  allies,  against  tho 
English,  in  1746 ;  he  had  been  a  conspicuous  commander  of 
the  Indian  forces  in  the  defence  of  Fort  Du  Quesne,  and  took 
an  active  part  in  the  memorable  defeat  of  the  British  and 
Provincials,  under  Braddock,  in  1755.  His  residence,  in 
summer,  was  on  Pechee  Island,  about  eight  miles  above  De 
troit  ;  and  in  winter,  at  the  Ottawa  village  opposite,  on  the 
Canadian  bank  of  Detroit  River — the  beautiful  land  of  his 
fathers,  held  by  them  and  himself  under  patent  from  the 
Great  Spirit !  but  the  possession  of  which  was  soon  to  pass 
from  his  hands.1 

When  Pontiac  was  informed  that  the  first  English  detach 
ment  which  had  ever  advanced  into  this  quarter  was  on  its 
march  toward  Detroit,  "  he  aroused  like  a  lion  attacked  in  his 
den."  He  instantly  sent  his  messengers  to  Major  Rogers,  to 
arrest  his  onward  progress.  When  Pontiac  and  Rogers  met, 
the  savage  chieftain  asked,  «  How  have  you  dared  to  enter 
my  country  without  my  leave  ?"  "I  come,"  replied  the Eng- 

1  Lanman,  p.  90.     Monette,  vol.  i.  326. 


HISTORY  OF   WISCONSIN. 

lish  agent,  "  with  no  design  against  the  Indians,  but  to  re 
move  the  French  out  of  your  country;"  and  he  gave  the  wam 
pum  of  peace.  But  Pontiac  told  him  he  should  "stand  in  his 
path"  until  the  next  morning,  and  at  the  same  time  presented 
him  with  a  small  string  of  wampum,  indicating  that  he  must 
not  advance  farther  without  his  leave.  On  departing,  Pontiac 
asked  Rogers  if  he  wanted  any  thing  that  his  country  con 
tained  ;  and  if  so,  his  warriors  should  bring  it.  He  was  an 
swered,  that  any  thing  which  was  furnished  by  the  Indians, 
should  be  purchased.  The  next  day,  the  chief  sent  pre 
sents  of  parched  corn,  and,  a  council  having  been  held,  Pon 
tiac  appeared  at  the  English  camp,  and  stated  that  he  had 
made  peace  with  the  English  detachment,  and,  as  a  pledge, 
Major  Rogers  and  Pontiac,  by  turns,  smoked  the  calumet.  He 
informed  Rogers  that  he  would  protect  his  party  from  the 
assaults  of  the  Indians,  who  were  collected  at  the  mouth  of  De 
troit  River  to  oppose  his  progress,  and  gave  him  an  escort  of 
warriors  to  assist  in  driving  his  herd  of  oxen  along  the  shore ; 
he  sent  to  the  Indian  villages  on  the  north  and  west  end  of 
Lake  Erie,  to  inform  them  that  the  English  had  his  consent 
to  pass  through  the  country ;  but  he  at  the  same  time  spoke  as 
an  independent  prince,  who  would  not  brook  the  presence  of 
white  men  within  his  dominions  but  at  his  pleasure.1 

After  some  correspondence  between  Major  Rogers  and 
Monsieur  Pign  Bellestre,  the  French  commandant  of  Detroit, 
in  relation  to  the  capitulation  signed  by  De  Vaudreuil  and 
General  Amherst,  and  the  surrender  of  all  Canada  to  Great 
Britain,  the  post  of  Detroit  was  given  into  the  hands  of  Ma 
jor  Rogers,  by  Bellestre,  on  the  25th  of  November,  1760  ; 
and  the  British  commander,  having  made  a  treaty  with  several 
tribes  of  Indians  in  the  neighbouring  country,  advanced 
toward  Lake  Huron,  for  the  purpose  of  taking  possession  also 
of  Michillimackinac.  The  ice  in  the  lake,  however,  obstructed 
his  passage,  and  having  been  informed  by  the  Indians  that 


1  Rogers' s  Concise  Account  of  North  America,  p.  240.    Rogers's  Journal, 
p.  214.     Bancroft,  vol.  iv.  362.     Lanman,  p.  91. 


VALLEY  OF   THE    MISSISSIPPI.  HI 

Le  could  not  cross  the  country  by  land,  without  the  use  of 
snow-shoes,  he  returned  to  Detroit  without  accomplishing  his 
object.  Nevertheless,  it  may  be  considered  that,  from  this 
period,  the  French  power  in  this  region  was  forever  over 
thrown.1 

In  the  spring  of  1761,  the  year  following  the  visit  of  Ro 
gers,  the  English  trader  Alexander  Henry  went  to  Michilli- 
jnackinac,  for  purposes  of  business,  and  he  found  everywhere 
the  strongest  feeling  against  the  English,  who  had  done  no 
thing,  by  word  or  act,  to  conciliate  the  Indians.  Even  then, 
there  were  threats  of  reprisals  and  war.  Although  Henry 
had  been  advised  and  obliged  to  disguise  himself  in  a  Cana 
dian  dress,  in  order  to  reach  Michillimackinac  in  safety,  as  a 
Frenchman,  yet  he  was  there  discovered  to  be  an  Englishman, 
and  was  waited  on  by  an  Indian  chief,  who  was  (as  has  been 
with  all  probability  conjectured)  Pontiac  himself.2  Henry 
\vas  told  by  the  chief,  that  their  French  father  would  soon 
awake  and  utterly  destroy  his  enemies,  arid  continued  :  "  Eng 
lishman  !  although  you  have  conquered  the  French,  you  have 
not  yet  conquered  us  !  We  are  not  your  slaves  !  These  lakes, 
these  woods,  these  mountains,  were  left  to  us  by  our  ancestors. 
They  are  our  inheritance,  and  we  will  part  with  them  to  none. 
Your  nation  supposes  that  we,  like  the  white  people,  cannot 
live  without  bread,  and  pork,  and  beef.  But  you  ought  to  know 
that  He,  the  Great  Spirit  and  Master  of  Life,  has  provided 
food  for  us  upon  these  broad  lakes,  and  in  these  mountains." 

He  then  spoke  of  the  fact  that  no  treaty  had  been  made 
with  them,  no  presents  sent  them,  and  while  he  announced 
their  intention  to  allow  Henry  to  trade  with  them  unmolested, 
and  to  regard  him  as  a  brother,  he  declared  that  with  his 
king  the  red  men  were  still  at  war.3 

At  the  time  the  British  took  possession  of  the  French  forts 
in  the  West  and  North-west,  and  by  the  influx  of  traders  and 


iRogers's  Cone.  Ac.  of  North  Am.,  p.  240.     Rogers's  Jour.,  p.  214.     Ban 
croft,  vol.  iv.  362.     Lanman,  p.  91.     See  Note  H. 
2  Thatcher,  Ind.  Biog.,  vol.  ii.  75.  3 Henry's  Travels  in  Canada. 


112  HISTORY  OF   WISCONSIN. 

the  arrival  of  soldiers,  had  shown  the  savages  that  the  in 
fluences  and  positions  of  their  ancient  friends,  the  French, 
•were  about  to  be  encroached  upon,  and  supplied  in  the  coun 
try,  by  those  of  their  enemies,  the  English :  the  language  of 
the  Indian  chief  to  Mr.  Henry  was  the  expression  of  the 
general  feeling  among  the  tribes.  They  could  with  difficulty 
realize  to  themselves  the  fact  of  the  existence  of  any  power 
superior  to  that  of  the  French,  and  were  ever  unwilling  to 
submit  to  the  dictation  of  any  authority,  or  even  to  listen  to 
the  admonition  or  advice  of  any  one,  save  that  of  the  Gover 
nor-General  of  Canada,  or  Ononthio,  as  the  French  command 
ant  was  always  called.  The  affection  of  the  Indians  to  the 
French  was  deeply  rooted,  and  to  the  present  day,  through 
the  changes  of  time,  the  total  loss  of  power,  and  the  widely 
different  positions  in  which  the  Indians  stand  in  relation  to 
the  whites  and  their  government,  such  affectionate  attachment 
has  never  been  in  any  great  degree  eradicated.  The  causes 
of  this  attachment  may,  perhaps,  be  found  in  the  peaceful 
and  religious  character  of  the  Jesuits,  the  early  explorers ; 
the  comparative  advantages  derived  by  the  Indians  from  the 
trade  first  established  with  them  by  the  French  ;  the  absence 
of  any  bold  attempts  to  wrest  the  country  from  the  natives, 
for  the  purpose  of  colonization,  during  all  their  intercourse, 
however  insidious  the  erection  of  fortresses  among  the  tribes 
may  have  been  in  fact ;  for  these  places  were  also  trading- 
posts  and  religious'  stations  ;  and  perhaps  as  a  cause  superior 
to  all,  has  been  the  facility  with  which  the  adventurers  adapted 
themselves  to  the  social  manners  and  customs  of  the  Indians, 
and  by  the  commingling  of  bloods  creating  the  strong  ties  of 
nature  between  them,  which  even  now  continues.  Although 
more  than  two  centuries  have  passed  away  since  a  Frenchman 
first  trod  the  land  through  which  flows  the  Outagamie  and  the 
Wisconsin  Rivers,  yet  there  is  not  a  tribe  of  the  native  in 
habitants  of  that  country  among  whom  may  not  be  found  an 
individual  with  white  blood  in  his  veins  :  not  only  does  this 
friendly  feeling  between  the  Indian  and  the  descendant  of  the 
early  French  settlers  still  continue,  but  through  all  the 


VALLEY  OF   THE   MISSISSIPPI.  113 

changes  in  the  country  that  time  has  wrought,  the  French 
language  still,  partially,  holds  its  place.  Although  the  Cana 
dian  dialect  predominates  among  the  French  descendants, 
yet  there  is  not  wanting  at  this  day,  in  portions  of  Wisconsin, 
instances  where  the  pure  Parisian  language  is  spoken,  and  the 
courtly  manner  of  a  polite  people  preserved,  notwithstanding 
all  the  changes  that  have  occurred  since  the  dominion  of 
France  over  the  Northwest  was  ceded  to  Great  Britain.  In 
the  vicinity  of  Green  Bay  and  Prairie-du-Chien,  these  in 
stances  may  readily  be  found.1 

Hitherto  we  have  viewed  the  gradual,  although  tardy  at 
tempts  at  the  settlement  of  the  Lower  Mississippi,  and  of  the 
Illinois  country,  which,  at  best,  was  an  armed  occupation  of 
fortified  posts,  religious  establishments  of  zealous  missionaries, 
the  partial  cultivation  of  small  spots  of  ground  for  immediate 
sustenance,  and  the  casual  presence  of  the  adventurous  Indian 
trader.  "We  have  observed  that  in  1746,  several  hundred  bar 
rels  of  flour  went  from  the  Illinois  country  to  New  Orleans, 
and  it  appears  from  representations  made  to  the  British  mi 
nistry  in  1770,  in  regard  to  the  former  trade  of  this  region, 
that  convoys  annually  went  down  in  December  with  the  pro 
duce.2  But  up  to  the  time  when  the  British  took  possession  of 
the  West,  it  is  believed,  that  within  the  boundaries  of  that  dis 
trict  of  country  which  is  now  properly  known  as  "Wisconsin," 
there  were  few  white  inhabitants  besides  the  roaming  Indian 
trader ;  and  of  these  few,  the  locations  were  separated  by  a  dis 
tance  of  more  than  two  hundred  miles  in  a  direct  line,  and  nearly 
double  that  distance  by  the  usual  water  route.  There  was  no 
settlement  of  agriculturists,  no  missionary  establishments,  no 
fortified  posts  at  other  points  than  at  Green  Bay  and  Des 
Peres  at  the  mouth  of  the  Fox  River,  and  at  Prairie-du-Chien 
near  the  junction  of  the  Wisconsin  with  the  Mississippi.  On 
the  left  bank  of  the  Fox  River,  at  the  present  site  of  Fort 
Howard,  the  French  had  built  «  Fort  La  Baye ;"  and  five  miles 
up  the  river,  on  the  right  bank,  the  Jesuit  fathers  had,  nearly 


1  See  Note  I.  2  PownalTs  Memorial. 

VOL.  I.— 8 


114  HISTORY   OF   WISCONSIN. 

a  century  before,  established  the  mission  of  St.  Francis  Xavier, 
now  called,  in  honour  of  their  labours,  «  Des  Peres."  Fort  La 
Baye  was  a  small  post  built  for  the  protection  of  trade,  and 
was  surrounded  by  a  stockade  ;  in  1728,  on  the  arrival  of  De 
Lignerie's  forces  destined  for  the  destruction  of  the  Outaga- 
mies,  there  was  an  officer  and  a  garrison  in  Fort  La  Baye, 
and  a  village  of  Saukies  on  the  opposite  side  of  the  river, 
where  the  village  of  Green  Bay  is  now  built.  On  the  sur 
render  of  Canada  and  its  dependencies  to  the  English,  it  was 
immediately  garrisoned  by  them  with  an  officer  and  thirty  men, 
but  soon  after  the  surprise  and  capture  of  Michillimackinac,  this 
fort  was  also  taken  possession  of  by  the  Indians,  and  the  Bri 
tish  left  this  quarter  of  the  country.  On  the  east  side  of  Fox 
River,  the  French  settlers  had  some  land  in  cultivation,  and  a 
few  families  lived  in  the  fort.  On  the  eastern  side  of  Green 
Bay,  near  the  Red  banks,  there  are  many  indications  of  early 
cultivation,  and  from  the  fertility  of  the  soil,  (it  being  superior 
to  that,  at  the  mouth  of  the  river,)  and  the  locality  being  not 
more  than  ten  miles  from  the  fort,  it  is  probable  that  this 
cultivation  was  the  work  of  the  settlers  in  this  neighbourhood  ; 
but  the  whole  matter  remains  in  doubt  and  obscurity,  in  the 
absence  of  records  or  tradition. 

About  five  miles  from  the  mouth  of  the  Wisconsin  River, 
the  Outagamies  formerly  had  a  large  town  in  a  pleasant  situa 
tion  on  the  right  bank  of  the  river ;  they  had  been  induced, 
from  a  superstitious  belief  that  the  Great  Spirit  had  so  ordered 
them,  to  remove  from  their  location,  and  to  build  a  town  on  tho 
banks  of  the  Mississippi ;  this  place  was  called  by  the  French, 
"La  Prairie-du-Chien,"  the  Dog  Plain  ;  or  perhaps  more  pro 
perly  in  the  plural,  «  Les  Prairies  des  Chi  ens,"  the  Dogs'  Prai 
ries  ;  as  it  has  been  stated  by  one  of  the  French  settlers,1  that 
on  his  arrival  there  in  1781,  he  was  informed  that  it  derived  its 
name  from  a  large  family  called  "Des  Chiens,"  who  formerly 
resided  there,  and  that  the  descendants  of  the  same  family  then 
resided  at  the  same  place,  and  were  called  "Des  Chiens." 

M.  Brisbois.     See  Public  Lands,  vol.  iv.  866. 


VALLEY  OF   THE  MISSISSIPPI.  115 

The  village  on  the  Wisconsin  River  was  in  ruins  when  Car 
ver  visited  the  country  in  1766,  and  he  received  the  following 
account  of  the  causes  of  the  desertion  of  it  by  the  Foxes  : — 
"About  thirty  years  ago,  (1736,)  the  Great  Spirit  had  appear 
ed  on  the  top  of  a  pyramid  of  rocks,  which  lay  at  a  little 
distance  from  the  village,  toward  the  West,  and  warned 
them  to  quit  their  habitations  ;  for  the  land  on  which  they  were 
built  belonged  to  him,  and  he  had  occasion  for  it.  As  a 
proof  that  he  who  gave  them  these  orders,  was  really  the 
Great  Spirit,  he  further  told  them  that  the  grass  should  im 
mediately  spring  up  on  those  very  rocks  from  whence  he  now 
addressed  them,  which  they  knew  to  be  bare  and  barren. 
The  Indians  obeyed,  and  soon  after  discovered  that  this  mira 
culous  alteration  had  taken  place.  They  showed  me  the  spot, 
but  the  growth  of  the  grass  appeared  to  be  no  ways  super 
natural.  I  apprehend  this  to  have  been  a  stratagem  of  the 
French  or  Spaniards  to  answer  some  selfish  view;  but  in 
what  manner  they  effected  their  purpose,  I  know  not."1 

When  Carver  was  at  the  Dog  Plains,  he  says  there  was  a 
large  town  containing  about  three  hundred  families,  the 
houses  being  well  built  after  the  Indian  manner,  pleasantly 
situated  on  a  very  rich  soil,  from  which  every  necessary  of  life 
was  raised  in  great  abundance  ;  many  horses  were  there  of 
good  size  and  shape  ;  the  town  was  a  great  mart,  where  all 
the  adjacent  tribes  and  even  those  who  inhabit  the  most  re 
mote  branches  of  the  Mississippi  annually  assemble  about  the 
latter  end  of  May,  bringing  with  them  their  furs  to  dispose 
of  to  the  traders.  But  it  is  not  always  that  they  conclude 
their  sale  here  ;  this  is  determined  by  a  general  council  of 
the  chiefs,  who  consult  whether  it  would  be  more  conducive 
to  their  interest,  to  sell  their  goods  at  this  place,  or  carry 
them  on  to  Louisiana,  or  Michillimackinac.  According  to 
the  decision  of  this  council,  they  either  proceed  farther  or 
return  to  their  different  homes.2 

It  is  difficult  to  ascertain  with  any  certainty  the  time  when 

1  Carver's  Travels.  2Idem. 


HISTORY  OF    WISCONSIN. 

the  first  settlement  of  the  French  took  place  at  Prairie-du- 
Chien.  It  is  said  that  in  1755,  the  government  of  France 
established  a  military  post  near  the  mouth  of  the  Wisconsin, 
many  French  families  settled  themselves  in  the  neighbourhood, 
and  established  the  village.1  But  it  is  somewhat  strange,  that 
when  Captain  Carver  was  at  this  place  in  1766,  he  found  no 
white  inhabitants ;  at  least  he  does  not  speak  of  meeting 
with  any,  although  he  describes  the  large  Indian  town,  and  its 
commercial  importance,  as  a  point  where  the  traders  and  the 
hunters  of  the  tribes  annually  met  to  conduct  their  traffic  in 
peltry.  Surely,  if  the  traveller  had  here  met  with  a  village 
inhabited  by  civilized  men,  he  would  have  not  only  described 
the  settlement,  but  have  dilated  with  pleasure  on  the  advance 
of  colonization  so  far  in  this  western  region :  his  silence  on 
this  subject  is  almost  conclusive  proof  that  there  were  no  white 
inhabitants  at  Prairie-du-Chien  in  1766,  or,  at  least,  that  the 
only  whites  then  in  this  part  of  the  country,  were  the  indus 
trious  but  wandering  traders  ;  but  the  following  extract  from 
his  travels,  in  speaking  of  this  town,  will  set  the  question  at 
rest.  He  says,  "A  little  farther  to  the  west,  on  the  contrary 
side  (of  the  Mississippi,)  a  small  river  falls  into  the  Mississippi 
which  the  French  call  La  Jaune  Riviere,  or  the  Yellow  River. 
Here  the  traders,  who  had  accompanied  me  hitherto,  took  up 
their  residence  for  the  winter."  Doubtless,  the  traders  would 
not  have  crossed  the  river,  to  remain  during  the  winter,  if 
there  had  been  a  settlement  of  whites  near  the  mouth  of  the 
Wisconsin.2 

I  The  hostility  of  the  Ottagamies  to  the  French,  and  their 
occupation  of  the  Fox  River  from  Green  Bay  to  the  Portage, 
was  an  insurmountable  obstacle  to  the  establishment  of  any 
trading-post  between  the  mission  of  St.  Francis  Xavier  and 
the  mouth  of  the  Wisconsin  River ;  even  the  labours  of  the 
Jesuit  fathers  had  not  extended  in  this  direction,  since  the 
time  of  Marquette  ;  their  attention  having  been  wholly  devoted 
to  the  missions  in  the  country  along  the  Illinois  and  the  Lower 

1  Public  Lands,  vol.  iii.  341.  2  See  Carver's  Travels. 


VALLEY  OF   THE   MISSISSIPPI. 

Mississippi.  We  have  seen  that  nearly  a  century  had  passed 
since  the  discovery  of  the  Great  River,  and  yet  the  whole 
country  north  of  the  Illinois  River,  and  west  of  Lake  Michi 
gan,  had  yet  been  unexplored  ;  the  vast  extent  of  the  prairies 
in  this  region  may  have  caused  the  neglect  of  the  Jesuit 
fathers  to  penetrate  the  interior  country,  and  all  its  beauties, 
all  its  advantages  in  soil  and  production,  remained  unknown. 
We  have  faint  glimpses  of  some  little  information,  in  regard 
to  its  being  a  mineral  region,  having  been  given  to  the  reverend 
fathers  and  early  traders ;  but  not  in  any  respect  equal  to 
the  knowledge  which  they  had  of  the  rich  mines  around  the 
shores  of  Lake  Superior.  But  the  absence  of  information 
touching  the  appearance,  quality,  and  productions  of  the  in 
terior  country,  among  the  early  explorers,  can  be  accounted 
for,  when  we  reflect  that  the  native  inhabitants  had  their 
dwellings  along  the  banks  of  the  large  streams,  and  that  the 
most  practicable  mode  of  travel  through  the  land  was  by  the 
aid  of  canoes,  the  water-courses  furnishing  both  the  highway 
and  the  means  of  supporting  life. 

Nevertheless,  unexplored  as  was  the  interior,  and  although 
no  religious  establishment  or  occupied  post  afforded  a  wel 
come  to  adventurous  traders,  they  had  already  been  found  in 
the  Upper  Mississippi  country,  crossing  what  is  now  Northern 
Wisconsin,  from  Lake  Superior  to  the  Falls  of  St.  Anthony, 
and  carrying  back  their  furs  to  Green  Bay,  by  means  of  the 
Wisconsin  and  Fox  Rivers.  This  had  been  done  for  at  least 
eighty  years,  as  we  hear  of  De  Luth,  the  trader,  in  the  jour 
nal  of  Hennepin ;  but  the  risk  of  the  adventurers  had  ever 
been  very  great,  however  profitable  may  have  been  a  result  to 
justify  so  dangerous  a  hazard. 

The  "ever  restless"  Ottagamies  and  Saukies,  as  they  are 
often  termed,  occupied  the  great  thoroughfare  of  the  traders, 
and  their  exactions  and  depredations  upon  them,  had  several 
times  been  visited  with  signal  vengeance  by  the  French,  in 
expeditions  sent  against  them.  In  1706,  Captain  Morand's 
expedition  was  successful  in  surprising,  capturing,  and  killing 
a  great  number  of  this  united  people :  of  this  affair,  Carver 


HISTORY   OF  WISCONSIN. 

gives  the  following  anecdote,  as  related  to  him  by  an  Indian, 
in  1T66. 

"About  sixty  years  ago,  the  French  missionaries  and  tra 
ders  having  received  many  insults  from  these  people,  (the  Sacs 
and  Foxes)  a  party  of  French  and  Indians,  under  the  com 
mand  of  Captain  Morand,  inarched  to  revenge  their  wrongs. 
The  captain  set  out  from  the  Green  Bay  in  the  winter,  when 
they  were  unsuspicious  of  a  visit  of  this  kind,  and  pursuing 
his  route  over  the  snow  to  their  villages,  which  lay  about  fifty 
miles  up  the  Fox  River,  came  upon  them  by  surprise.  Un 
prepared  as  they  were,  he  found  them  an  easy  conquest,  and 
consequently  killed,  or  took  prisoners,  the  greatest  part  of 
them.  On  the  return  of  the  French  to  the  Green  Bay,  one 
of  the  Indian  chiefs  in  alliance  with  them,  who  had  a  consider 
able  band  of  the  prisoners  under  his  care,  stopped  to  drink 
at  a  brook ;  in  the  mean  time  his  companions  went  on  ;  which 
being  observed  by  one  of  the  women  whom  they  had  made 
captive,  she  suddenly  seized  him  wTith  both  her  hands,  while 
he  stooped  to  drink,  by  an  exquisitely  susceptible  part,  and 
held  him  fast  till  he  expired  on  the  spot.  As  the  chief,  from 
the  extreme  torture  he  suffered,  was  unable  to  call  out  to  his 
friends,  or  to  give  any  alarm,  they  passed  on,  without  knowing 
what  had  happened ;  and  the  woman,  having  cut  the  bands 
of  those  of  her  fellow-prisoners  who  were  in  the  rear,  with 
them  made  her  escape.  This  heroine  was  ever  after  treated 
by  her  nation  as  their  deliverer,  and  made  a  chiefess  in  her 
own  right,  with  liberty  to  entail  the  same  honour  on  her 
descendants ;  an  unusual  distinction,  and  permitted  only  on 
extraordinary  occasions."1 

After  the  severe  chastisement  which  the  Foxes  had  received 
at  the  siege  of  Detroit  in  1712,  and  which  we  have  already 
noticed,  they  had  retired  to  their  stronghold  on  the  Fox  River. 
Against  this  post,  the  expedition  of  De  Louvigny,  in  1714,  as 
has  been  seen,  was  successful,  although  no  advantage  was  de 
rived  by  the  French  by  its  capitulation.  The  fruitless  march 

1  Carver's  Travels. 


VALLEY  OF    THE   MISSISSIPPI. 

of  the  large  force  of  French  and  Indians,  under  de  Lignerie, 
in  1728,  is  the  last  expedition  of  which  we  have  any  accurate 
account ;  and  this  account,  as  we  have  given  it,  was  procured 
from  the  archives  at  Paris.  Much  information  relative  to  the 
early  history  of  this  portion  of  New  France  and  Louisiana, 
undoubtedly  yet  remains  among  those  archives,  which  has 
never  yet  been  given  to  the  world ;  its  production  is  certainly 
much  to  be  desired. 

In  1746,  the  northern  tribes,  under  Mackinac,  (the  Turtle,) 
combined  against  the  French  at  Detroit :  these  tribes  are  said 
to  have  been  the  Iroquois ;  it  is  not  said  that  the  Foxes  were 
a  party.  Pontiac  assisted  the  French,  and,  in  1763,  he  spoke 
of  such  aid  as  having  been  given  by  him,  seventeen  years 
before.  There  is  no  certain  record  of  any  expedition  against 
the  Foxes  in  1746,  and  yet  it  is  said  that  an  engagement 
took  place  in  that  year,  at  the  Great  Butte  des  Mort,  the  old 
stronghold  of  the  Foxes.1  It  is  very  probable  that  about  this 
period,  or  at  some  time  between  1728  and  1746,  the  Sacs  and 
Foxes  removed  from  their  old  dwelling-places  along  the  Fox 
River,  and  went  down  the  Wisconsin  and  Rock  Rivers,  and 
across  the  Mississippi,  where  they  have  ever  since  remained. 

A  traditionary  account  of  the  expedition  against  the  Foxes 
was  given  by  an  aged  French  settler 2  at  Prairie  du  Chien,  a 
few  years  since,  to  this  effect : 

"A  detachment  of  a  considerable  number  of  men,  under 
the  command  of  Monsieur  Morand,  was  sent  from  Mackinac 
in  a  boat,  in  all  respects  resembling  a  traders'  boat,  which 
ascended  the  Fox  River  from  Green  Bay.  The  soldiers  were 
concealed  in  the  boat  by  a  covering  of  skins,  and  they  cau 
tiously  proceeded  undiscovered,  in  this  manner,  up  the  river 
as  far  as  the  Great  Butte  des  Morts,  since  so  called,  at  vrhich 
place  was  the  great  village  of  the  Ottagamies.  On  their 
arrival  here,  the  Foxes,  as  usual,  appeared  in  full  force  on  the 
banks  of  the  river,  in  order  to  stop  the  boat,  and  exact  from 
the  supposed  traders  the  customary  payment  of  tribute. 

1  Martin's  Hist.  Disc.  2  Michael  Brisbois. 


120  HISTORY  OF  WISCONSIN. 

Capt.  Morand  had  with  him  in  the  boat  a  swivel  gun,  well 
charged  with  canister  and  grape ;  the  signal  was  given ;  the 
covering  of  the  boat  was  immediately  thrown  off,  and  a  volley 
from  the  concealed  soldiers,  together  with  a  discharge  from 
the  swivel,  did  murderous  execution  on  the  thickly  crowded 
Ottagamies.  Scarcely  had  they  time  to  recover  from  their  first 
surprise,  when  a  repetition  of  discharges  from  the  musketry 
and  the  cannon  nearly  annihilated  the  whole  tribe.  It  is 
believed  that  more  than  a  thousand  of  their  chiefs  and  braves, 
-with  women  and  children,  fell  at  this  time.  Their  burial  sub 
sequently  has  given  to  this  spot  the  name  of  <  Le  Butte  des 
Morts,'  the  Hill  of  the  Dead.1 

"  The  expedition  returned  to  Mackinac  without  loss,  and 
the  remainder  of  the  band  of  Foxes  soon  after  left  this  part 
of  the  country,  and  moved  west  of  the  Mississippi." 

There  is  certainly  a  confusion  of  dates,  or  blending  of  inci 
dents,  in  these  accounts.  One  expedition  is  said  to  have  been 
in  the  winter,  by  land ;  the  other  in  the  summer,  by  water, 
and  both  under  Captain  Morand.  Carver's  account,  having 
been  obtained  in  1766,  refers  distinctly  to  the  year  1706  ;  the 
traditionary  account  of  the  water  expedition  must  refer  to  a 
much  later  period,  and  the  commander's  name  is  inaccurately 
given.  As  to  the  great  battle  on  the  Fox  River  in  1746, 
there  is  no  account  of  it,  to  which  we  can  refer  with  any  cer 
tainty;  and  with  respect  to  the  period  and  the  cause  of  the 
building  up  of  the  Great  Butte  des  Morts,  we  are  altogether  lost 
in  uncertainty.  It  is  worthy  of  remark  that  Carver,  who  was 
there  in  1766,  or  in  the  immediate  vicinity,  does  not  mention 
it ;  and  it  is  probable  that  if  such  mound  was  then  there,  it 
was  an  ancient  mound,  and  the  account  that  it  was  raised  over 
.the  dead  who  had  fallen  in  Morand's  expedition,  is  incorrect; 
for  Carver  received  his  tradition  of  that  expedition  from  an 
old  Indian,  and  surely  the  remarkable  circumstances  respect 
ing  the  great  burial  mound  would  not  have  been  forgotten,  if 
such  facts  existed,  and  the  mound  was  then  to  be  seen. 

1  See  Note  K. 


VALLEY  OF   THE  MISSISSIPPI.  121 

Around  Lake  Superior  there  had  hitherto  been  no  attempts 
tit  settlement  and  cultivation,  except  at  the  immediate  mis 
sionary  establishments  at  the  Sault  de  St.  Marie,  and  at  Cha- 
gouemegon ;  the  few  trading-posts,  which  were  frequented  at 
stated  seasons,  could  not  be  looked  upon  as  settlements.  Al 
though  it  is  known  that  the  early  missionaries  were  well 
acquainted  with  the  richness  of  that  region  in  the  production 
of  copper,  and  that  their  letters  speak  not  only  of  the  vast 
mass  of  native  copper  found  in  the  Ontonagon,  but  of  nume 
rous  other  places  where  the  mineral  was  found  in  abundance  ; 
yet  there  is  no  evidence  of  any  attempts  having  been  made, 
to  any  extent,  to  turn  these  mineral  discoveries  to  advantage. 
After  the  conquest  of  Canada  by  the  English,  a  company  of 
adventurers  from  England  had  undertaken  to  work  these 
mines,  but  the  distracted  situation  of  American  affairs  obliged 
them  to  relinquish  their  scheme.1  There  is  abundant  evidence, 
at  this  day  found  in  the  copper  region,  of  a  wrorking  of  these 
mines,  at  some  far  distant  period,  and  by  some  unknown  peo 
ple,  that  excites  our  curiosity,  without  in  any  degree  satisfy 
ing  it.  In  some  of  the  old  mines  have  been  found  various 
matters  indicating  a  knowledge  of  mining  as  pursued  at  the 
present  day,  and  the  possession  of  tools,  the  manufacture  of 
which  could  not  with  much  propriety  be  attributed  to  our  pre 
sent  races  of  Indians.  Stone  hammers  have  been  found  in 
large  quantities,  (equal  to  ten  cartloads  ;)  they  are  made  of  green 
stone,  or  porphyry  pebble,  with  single  and  double  grooves, 
by  which  a  withe  was  attached ;  such  are  not  uncommon  in 
other  parts  of  the  country ;  but  a  copper  gad,  with  the  head 
much  battered,  a  copper  chisel,  with  a  socket  for  the  handle, 
a  copper  knife,  fragments  of  a  wooden  bowl  to  dip  water,  nu 
merous  levers  of  wood,  used  in  raising  the  mass  of  copper  to 
the  surface  ;  all  denoting  work  performed  by  a  people  of  whom 
there  exists  neither  record  nor  tradition.  Remnants  of  char 
coal  have  been  found  in  many  places,  and  pits  have  been 
explored,  which  had  formerly  been  sunk  some  fourteen  feet 

1  Carver's  Travels ;  Henry's  Travels. 


122  HISTORY   OF   WISCONSIN. 

deep,  following  the  course  of  copper  veins ;  these  pits  have 
been  discovered  in  extending  continuous  lines — at  one  place 
twelve  miles,  and  at  another,  thirty  miles  ;  and  upon  a  mound 
of  earth,  thrown  out  of  one  of  them,  grew  a  pine  tree,  ten  feet 
in  circumference  ;  the  annular  growths  of  a  hemlock,  which 
was  cut  down,  (growing  on  a  mound,  under  similar  circum 
stances,)  counted  three  hundred  and  ninety-five  years.  A  pit 
on  Isle  Royale,  which  had  been  filled  up  with  surrounding 
earth,  was  opened  ;  the  old  mine  had  been  worked  through 
solid  rock  nine  feet,  the  walls  being  perfectly  smooth ;  at  the 
bottom  was  found  a  vein  of  native  copper  eighteen  inches 
thick,  including  a  sheet  of  pure  copper  lying  against  the  foot- 
wall.1 

It  is  well  known,  that  copper  rings,  designed  for  bracelets, 
are  frequently  met  with  in  the  Western  mounds.  Are  not 
these  copper  rings  a  strong  link  in  the  chain  of  evidence  to 
connect  the  ancient  mining  of  the  Lake  Superior  region,  with 
the  earth-works  of  the  Mississippi  Valley  ?  Who  were  the 
nations  that  peopled  these  regions  ?  Whence  did  they  come  ? 
How  have  they  passed  away,  and  left  in  the  bosom  of  their 
mother  Earth  the  only  traces  of  their  existence  ? — are  ques 
tions  that  time  and  research  have  not  yet  solved,  and  we  must 
be  content  to  leave  them  in  the  mystery  with  which  they  are 
enveloped. 

1  Foster  and  Whitney's  Report,  1850,  passim. 


CHAPTER  III. 

• 

UNDER   BRITISH   DOMINION. 

Treaty  of  1763 — England  possesses  all  New  France  and  Louisiana — Protec 
tion  of  eminent  domain — Carver's  Grant — Illinois  and  Wabash  Companies 
— Classes  of  grants  in  the    Territory  of  Michigan,  and  in  Wisconsin— 
De  Vaudreuil's  Grant — French  inhabitants  under  English  rule — Indians 
unfriendly  to  the  English— Pontiac's  designs— His  great  confederacy — 
Calls  a  grand  council,  and  states  his  plans  to  them — Unexpected  attacks 
on  the  British  posts — Black  rain  at  Detroit — Surprise  and  capture  of  Mi- 
chilHmackinac — Henry's  personal  account  of  it — Fort  at  Green  Bay  aban 
doned — Fort  at  St.  Joseph's  captured — Situation  of  Detroit — Stratagem 
of  Pontiac — Discovered  and  prevented — Siege  of  Detroit — Barbarities  of 
the  Indians — Reinforcements  arrive — Captain  Dalyell's  sortie,  defeat,  and 
death — Siege  abandoned  by  the  Indians — Arrival  of  General  Bradstreet 
— Concludes  a  peace  with  the  Indian  tribes — Pontiac  does  not  consent — 
His  death — His  character — Absence  of  settlements  in  Wisconsin — Captain 
Carver's  intentions   and  attempts — His  travels   and  remarks — No  Euro 
peans   on   the   Upper  Mississippi,  as  settlers,  in  1766 — Evidence  as   to 
Carver's  Grant — The  Illinois  country — Peaceable  settlements  of  the  French 
— Their  mode  of  life — Their  villages  and  general  regulations  of  property — 
Tranquillity  and  happiness — Their  religion — Changes  under  British  rule — 
Settlements  decline — Emigration  to  Spanish  Louisiana — Population  of  the 
Illinois  country — British  occupy  the  forts — Col.  Clark's  Expedition — His 
plan  adopted  by  Virginia — British  influence  over  Indians  the  source  of  the 
depredations  on  the  frontier  settlements — Claims  of  Virginia  to  the  North 
west,  by  her  royal  charters — Clark  assembles   his   force — Descends  the 
Ohio — Marches   overland  to  Kaskaskia — Captures   the  town  and   fort — • 
Fears  of  the  inhabitants — They  apply  to  Clark — His  answer — Their  re 
joicings — Cahokia  surrenders — Fort  Sackville,   or  Vincennes,  submits — 
Oath  of  allegiance  taken — Clark  establishes  forts— County  of  Illinois  es 
tablished  by  Virginia — Indians  make  treaties  with    Clark — The  British 
governor  collects  his  forces — Resolves  to  make  Clark  prisoner — Governor 
Hamilton's  character — He  arrives  before  Vincennes— Captain  Helm  alone 

123 


124  HISTORY  OF  WISCONSIN. 

in  the  fort — Obtains  honourable  terms — Clark  determines  on  retaking  Vin- 
cennes — Marches  from  Kaskaskia — Hardships  suffered  by  his  forces — Ar 
rive  at  the  town  and  capture  it — Attack  the  fort— Hamilton  capitu 
lates,  and  is  sent  prisoner  to  Virginia — Clark's  views  on  Detroit — Cap 
tures  a  convoy  of  supplies — The  result  of  Clark's  enterprises — The 
five  states  of  the  Northwestern  Territory — The  Northwest  during  the 
Revolutionary  War — Claims  of  States  proposed  to  be  relinquished — Plans 
devised  and  debated  in  Congress — Deeds  of  cession  by  States — Geographical 
boundaries  of  the  new  States  not  defined  understandingly — Revision  of 
deeds  of  cession  proposed — New  boundaries  of  States — Resolutions  of  Con 
gress  on  this  subject — Ordinance  of  1787 — Assent  of  Virginia  to  alteration 
of  her  deed  of  cession — Review  of  sixth  article  of  ordinance  of  1787. 

A  NEW  era  in  the  history  of  the  West  commenced  with  the 
year  1763.  The  capture  of  Quebec  in  1759,  and  the  subse 
quent  capitulation  of  Montreal  in  1760,  extinguished  the  do 
minion  of  France  in  the  basin  of  the  St.  Lawrence,  and  by 
the  terms  of  the  Treaty  of  Paris,  in  1763,  all  the  possessions 
in,  and  all  the  claims  of,  the  French  nation,  to  the  vast  coun 
tries  watered  by  the  Ohio  and  the  Mississippi,  were  ceded  to 
Great  Britain.  Thus,  England  held  the  sovereignty  of  Nova 
Scotia,  Acadia,  Canada,  all,  in  fact,  of  New  France,  and  the 
whole  country  from  the  Gulf  of  Mexico  to  the  sources  of  the 
Mississippi,  designated  as  Louisiana  ;  of  all  the  power  of 
France  over  these  vast  regions,  not  an  atom  remained,  except 
that  which  sprung  from  the  deeply-seated  affection  and  ever- 
enduring  friendship  of  the  Indian  nations. 

The  definitive  articles  of  the  Treaty  of  Paris  had  been 
signed  by  the  contracting  parties,  on  the  3d  of  November, 
1762,  on  which  day,  by  a  secret  treaty,  France  ceded  to  Spain 
all  Louisiana  west  of  the  Mississippi,  and  the  island  of  Or 
leans.  The  Treaty  of  Paris  was  concluded  on  the  10th  of 
February,  1763,  by  which  Great  Britain  became  possessed  of 
the  whole  of  New  France,  and  of  all  that  portion  of  the  pro 
vince  of  Louisiana  lying  on  the  east  side  of  the  Mississippi, 
except  the  town  of  New  Orleans,  and  the  island  on  which  it 
is  situated,  which  remained  to  France;  the  navigation  of  the 
Mississippi  was  to  remain  equally  free  to  the  subjects  of  Great 
Britain  and  France. 


UNDER  BRITISH  DOMINION.  125 

Among  the  first  acts  of  the  new  masters  of  the  country, 
was  the  protection  of  the  eminent  domain  of  the  government, 
and  the  restriction  of  all  attempts  on  the  part  of  individuals 
to  acquire  Indian  title  to  lands.  By  the  king's  proclamation, 
of  1763,  the  British  governors  were  prohibited  from  issuing 
grants  of  land  except  within  certain  prescribed  limits,  and  all 
private  persons  were  interdicted  the  liberty  of  purchasing 
lands  from  the  Indians,  and  of  making  settlements  without 
those  prescribed  limits.  The  policy  which  dictated  this  go 
vernmental  measure  is  unexceptionable ;  the  indulgence  of 
such  a  privilege  as  that  of  making  private  purchases  of  the 
natives,  conduced  to  the  most  serious  difficulties,  and  made 
way  for  the  practice  of  the  most  reprehensible  frauds.  The 
same  policy  has  ever  been  adopted,  and  acted  upon,  by  the 
government  of  the  United  States,  in  respect  to  the  extinguish 
ment  of  the  Indian  title  to  lands  in  every  quarter  of  the 
country.  But,  in  the  very  face  of  the  proclamation,  and 
within  three  years  after  its  promulgation,  under  a  supposed 
purchase,  or  voluntary  grant  from  the  natives,  a  tract  of 
country,  nearly  one  hundred  miles  square,  including  a  large 
portion  of  Northern  Wisconsin,  was  claimed  by  Captain  Jona 
than  Carver,  and  a  ratification  of  his  title  solicited  from  the 
king  and  council.  This,  it  appears,  was  not  conceded,  and  the 
representatives  of  Captain  Carver,  after  the  change  of  govern 
ment  had  brought  the  lands  under  the  jurisdiction  of  the  United 
States,  for  a  series  of  years  presented  the  same  claims  before 
Congress,  and  asked  for  their  confirmation.  Such  a  demand, 
under  all  the  circumstances  of  Carver's  case,  could  not  justify 
an  expectation  of  success,  from  a  compliance  on  the  part  of 
the  general  government ;  and  of  course  it  has  often  been  re 
fused,  and  the  claim  rejected.  But,  notwithstanding  the  abun 
dant  means  which  the  public  had  of  informing  themselves  of  the 
true  nature  and  condition  of  Carver's  claim,  bargains  and  sales 
of  portions  of  the  tract  have  been  made  among  visionary  specu 
lators,  for  half  a  century  past,  and  up  to  the  present  time ; 
and  it  is  now  only  a  short  period,  since  the  maps  of  the 


126  HISTORY  OF   WISCONSIN. 

United  States  have  ceased  to  be  defaced  by  a  delineation  of 
the  "  Carver  Grant."1 

Similar  to  this  supposed  grant,  but  in  many  respects  enti 
tled  to  a  favourable  consideration,  was  the  purchase  made  by 
William  Murray,  in  1773,  from  the  Illinois  Indians,  of  a  tract 
of  country,  contained  in  several  parcels,  amounting  altogether 
to  double  the  quantity  of  land  embraced  in  Carver's  grant. 
Murray's  claim  was  known  by  the  name  of  the  Illinois  and 
Wabash  Company's  purchase.  For  the  several  purchases 
from  the  Indians,  more  than  fifty  thousand  pounds  sterling 
was  paid,  anil  deeds  were  executed  at  places  where  solemn 
treaties  were  held,  and  every  matter  pertaining  to  the  trans 
fer  of  title  was  conducted  with  good  faith  between  the  contract 
ing  parties  :  the  highest  legal  authorities  in  England  had  been 
consulted  on  the  validity  of  the  title ;  and  Pratt,  Yorke,  and 
Dunning,  (two  of  them  afterward  lord-chancellors,)  gave  their 
opinions  in  favour  of  the  purchase.  It  was  even  questioned 
whether  the  King  of  England  possessed  the  power  to  restrain 
the  Indians  from  selling,  and  whether  he  possessed  such  a 
power  to  restrain  British  subjects  from  buying.  The  crown 
lawyers,  being  consulted  by  the  king  in  council,  in  1772,  as 
to  the  legal  effect  of  Indian  grants,  and  royal  patents,  gave 
the  following  answer : 

"In  respect  to  such  places  as  have  been,  or  shall  be 
acquired  by  treaty  or  grant,  from  any  of  the  Indian  princes  or 
governments,  your  majesty's  letters-patent  are  not  necessary, 
the  property  in  the  soil  vesting  in  the  grantee,  by  the  Indian 
grants,  subject  only  to  your  majesty's  right  of  sovereignty 
over  the  settlements  as  English  settlements,  and  over  the 
inhabitants  as  English  subjects,  who  carry  with  them  your 
majesty's  laws,  wherever  they  form  colonies,  and  receive  your 
majesty's  protection,  by  virtue  of  your  royal  charters." 

But,  notwithstanding  the  many  attempts  made  by  the  Illi 
nois  and  Wabash  Land  Company  to  have  their  claims  ratified 
by  Congress,  they  have  never  yet  succeeded.  Although  sup- 

iDocum.  History,  Carver  Grant. 


UNDER   BRITISH   DOMINION.  127 

ported  by  learned  argument,  and  sometimes  fortified  by  the 
favourable  reports  of  committees,  the  policy  of  the  proclama 
tion  of  October  7th,  1763,  prohibiting  individuals  from  pur 
chasing  lands  from  the  Indians,  has  always  prevailed  in  the 
action  of  our  national  legislature.  The  claim  of  this  company 
would  cover  a  great  portion  of  the  most  valuable  lands  in  the 
centre  of  the  state  of  Illinois.1 

In  the  region  of  country  which  is  now  properly  Wisconsin, 
there  does  not  appear  to  have  been  any  claims  of  the  descrip 
tion  alluded  to,  with  the  single  exception  of  that  of  Captain 
Carver.  At  so  early  a  period  as  1806,  when  the  general  go 
vernment  was  prosecuting  its  inquiries  into  the  nature  of  the 
claims  of  the  inhabitants  of  the  Northwest,  to  lands  in  the 
territory  of  Michigan,  the  able  report  of  the  commissioners 
on  this  subject  comprehended  the  titles  to  all  the  farms  in 
six  classes. 

The  first  class  consists  of  grants  made  by  the  French  go 
vernors  of  New  France  and  Louisiana,  confirmed  by  the  King 
of  France. 

The  second  class  consists  of  grants  made  by  the  French 
governors,  not  confirmed  by  the  King  of  France. 

The  third  class  consists  of  occupancies,  by  permission  of 
French  military  commanding  officers,  without  confirmation 
or  even  grant,  and,  perhaps,  without  any  written  evidence  of 
the  permission,  but  accompanied  by  long  and  undisturbed 
possession. 

The  fourth  class  consists  of  occupancies  while  France  pos 
sessed  the  country,  without  any  permission  whatever,  but 
still  accompanied  by  undisturbed  possession. 

The  fifth  class  is  composed  of  similar  titles,  together  with 
extinguishments  of  native  right,  by  individuals,  while  the 
country  belonged  to  Great  Britain. 

The  sixth  class  is  composed  of  occupancies,  and  extinguish 
ments  of  native  right,  by  individuals,  since  the  country  has 
appertained  to  the  United  States.2 

i  I.and  Laws,  vol.  ii.       2  For  one  of  this  class  at  Green  Bay,  see  Doc.  Hist 


128  HISTORY  OF   WISCONSIN. 

Of  this  latter  class,  the  commissioners  say  that  there  were 
Indian  grants,  generally  for  a  few  hundred  acres,  though  there 
are  several  for  five,  ten,  fifteen,  thirty,  and  fifty  thousand 
acres,  and  some  for  even  one  hundred  thousand  acres.  But 
the  policy  and  principles  of  the  royal  proclamation  of  1763, 
adopted  and  acted  on  by  the  United  States  government,  at 
all  subsequent  periods,  determined  the  total  invalidity  of  such 
claims.1 

Another  class  embraced  claims  founded  on  actual  settle 
ments  and  improvements,  without  other  pretended  title ;  and 
this  class  comprehended  all  the  old  claims  to  lands  and  lots 
at  Green  Bay  and  Prairie-du-Chien,  which,  at  subsequent 
periods,  were  proved,  and  favourably  reported  on,  by  the 
United  States  commissioners,  and  finally  confirmed  by  the 
general  government. 

In  1766,  an  application  was  made  to  Sir  William  Johnson, 
by  the  merchants  of  Canada,  for  the  confirmation  of  a  grant 
of  an  extraordinary  nature,  made  by  the  Marquis  de  Vau- 
dreuille,  in  October,  1759,  and  confirmed  by  the  King  of  France- 
in  January,  1760,  to  Monsieur  Rigaud  and  Madame  de  Vau- 
dreuille,  and  afterward  sold  by  them  to  a  Mr.  William  Grant. 
This  concession,  or  grant,  was  no  less  than  "The  fort  at  La 
Baye  des  Puants,  in  Lake  Michigan,  with  an  extensive  terri 
tory,  over  which  the  grantee  was  to  have  the  exclusive  right 
of  trade,  with  liberty  to  erect  houses,  and  make  establishments 
thereon."  The  period  at  which  this  grant  was  made,  when 
the  French  possessions  in  Canada,  and  the  West,  were  almost 
entirely  lost  to  the  French  crown,  affords  a  proof  that  it  was 
intended  as  a  mere  perquisite  to  a  favourite,  and  it  need 
scarcely  be  added  that  the  claim  was  rejected  by  the  English 
Board  of  Trade.2 

The  mere  transfer  of  the  dominion  over  the  country,  from 
the  French  to  the  English  government,  and  the  consequent 
occupation  of  the  military  posts  by  the  new  masters,  did  not,  in 
any  great  degree,  alter  the  social  condition  of  the  inhabitants. 

1  Land  Laws,  vol.  i.     See  Note  A.  2  See  Note  B. 


UNDER  BRITISH  DOMINION.  120 

33y  the  terms  of  the  capitulation  of  Montreal,  the  French  sub 
jects  were  permitted  to  remain  in  the  country,  in  the  full 
enjoyment  of  their  civil  and  religious  rights,  and  the  fur  trade 
was  prosecuted  upon  the  lakes  with  much  energy  by  English 
companies,  who  employed  French  agents  in  conducting  their 
trading  transactions  with  the  Indians.  Agriculture  was  little 
attended  to,  or  encouraged  by  the  English,  as  few  of  their 
nation  had,  as  yet,  come  into  the  country,  except  for  the  pur 
poses  of  trade.  The  French  settlements  were  made  along  the 
principal  streams  of  the  lakes,  and  in  the  immediate  vicinity 
of  the  military  posts  ;  the  farms  scattered  upon  the  banks  of 
the  rivers  were  of  narrow  form,  surrounded  by  pickets,  which 
yet  continues  to  be  the  French  mode  of  enclosure.1  In  all 
parts  of  New  France  and  Louisiana,  wherever  settlements 
were  made  for  the  purposes  of  cultivation,  on  the  borders  of 
lakes  and  banks  of  water-courses,  a  general  consent  appears 
to  have  established  a  uniform  system  of  claim.  A  few  arpens 
in  width  along  the  water,  with  a  varied  depth  over  the  adjoin 
ing  prairie  or  wood,  back  to  bluffs,  or  other  boundaries, 
according  to  the  moderation  or  cupidity  of  the  claimant  or 
proprietor,  constituted  a  title,  which  has  continued  to  be 
respected  to  the  present  day ;  and  the  shape  of  the  lots  or 
farms  of  the  original  proprietors,  with  narrow  fronts  and 
extended  sides,  still  remains,  along  the  lakes  and  waters  of 
the  regions  settled  by  the  French. 

At  the  period  of  the  surrender  of  the  posts  to  the  English, 
it  is  stated  by  a  contemporary,  that  there  were  about  fifty 
cottages  on  the  strait  of  Detroit,  with  orchards  by  their  side ; 
they  were  constructed  of  logs,  with  roofs  of  bark,  or  thatched 
with  straw ;  wheat  was  sown  in  rows ;  potatoes  were  first  in 
troduced  by  the  English  ;  corn  began  to  be  introduced  under 
English  jurisdiction,  while  peltries  were  chiefly  the  circulating 
medium :  the  first  horses  used  in  Detroit  were  introduced  from 
Fort  Duquesne,  and  these  were  taken  from  the  English  by  the 
.Indians,  at  Braddock's  defeat.2 

1  Lanman's  Michigan.  a  Ibid.,  and  MS.  quoted. 

VOL.  I.— 9 


130  HISTORY  OF  WISCONSIN. 

The  succession  of  authority  over  the  North-west  did  not 
bring  with  it,  to  the  English,  the  friendship  of  the  Algonquin 
tribes  in  that  quarter ;  the  new  masters  were  regarded  as 
intruders  by  the  Indians,  and  the  long  cherished  affection 
which  many  of  the  tribes  had  for  the  French,  produced  an  op 
posite  feeling  in  them  toward  the  new  people,  the  enemies 
of  their  great  French  father,  and  of  his  representative  Onon- 
thio,  which  quickly  ripened  into  a  deadly  hatred.  This  feeling 
was  early  exhibited  by  Pontiac,  when  he  first  met  the  detach 
ment  under  Major  Rogers  on  their  way  to  take  possession  of 
the  military  posts  :  it  was  well  understood  by  Henry,  who  was 
undoubtedly  the  pioneer  of  the  English  fur-traders  in  this  re 
gion,  when,  on  his  first  visit  to  the  country,  he  was  advised 
and  obliged  to  disguise  himself  as  a  Frenchman,  in  order  to 
avoid  certain  pillage,  anfl  impending  death  :l  it  was  fully  de 
veloped  in  the  disastrous  events  which  quickly  followed  the 
occupation  of  the  posts  by  the  English,  known  as  the  Pontiac 
war. 

It  has  been  observed  of  Pontiac,  that  no  American  savage 
has  exhibited  a  more  marked  character  in  his  power  of  mind 
to  grasp  great  designs,  or  in  his  bold  and  strong  arm  in  carry 
ing  them  into  execution.  He  had  evinced  great  judgment  and 
clearness  of  discrimination  in  his  interviews  with  Major  Ro 
gers.  He  sought  to  inform  himself  of  the  discipline  of  the 
English  forces,  inquired  the  mode  of  manufacturing  cloth  and 
iron ;  and  even,  wishing  to  see  England,  offered  a  part  of  his 
country  to  the  English  commandant,  if  he  would  take  him 
there.  He  also  had  stated  to  the  English  that  he  was  will 
ing  to  remain  in  subordination  to  the  King  of  Great  Britain, 
pay  a  yearly  tribute  in  furs,  and  call  him  his  uncle.  After  the 
surrender  of  the  country,  he  intimated  that  he  was  also  ready 
to  encourage  the  settlement  of  the  English  in  his  country,  so 
long  as  they  treated  him  with  respect ;  but  that  if  they  failed 
in  this,  he  should  exclude  them  from  it,  and  "  shut  up  the  way.'* 
These  remarks  might  have  been  merely  policy,  but,  at  all 

i  Henry's  Travels. 


UNDER   BRITISH  DOMINION.  131 

events,  it  is  clear  that  he  did  not  consider  himself  con 
quered.1 

Pontiac  had  conceived  the  great  design  of  driving  the  Eng 
lish  at  once  and  effectually  from  the  country,  by  a  destruction 
of  their  forts  and  strongholds,  which  would  not  only  deprive 
them  of  all  present  power  in  this  quarter,  but  would  also  pre 
sent  very  important  obstacles  to  their  future  advance  on  the 
north-western  waters.  His  plan  was  to  unite  the  various  tribes 
in  one  grand  confederacy,  and  by  a  simultaneous  attack,  by 
stratagem  if  practicable,  on  all  the  English  posts,  to  massacre 
the  garrisons,  take  possession  of  these  points,  drive  out  the 
British  from  the  land,  and  secure  the  return  of  the  French, 
the  ancient  friend  of  the  Indian  race — their  allies  in  war,  and 
in  many  instances  endeared  to  them  by  consanguinity. 

The  league  formed  by  Pontiac  in  this  great  undertaking 
was  more  extensive  than  any  which  had  ever  been  known  upon 
the  continent.  All  the  tribes  inhabiting  the  region  extending 
from  the  lakes  on  the  north,  to  the  southern  limits  of  Caro 
lina,  and  west  of  this  extensive  frontier,  back  to  the  Mississippi, 
were  engaged  in  it  by  the  great  chief,  who  seemed  to  exercise 
the  power  of  an  absolute  dictator,  and  all  the  influence  of  an 
inspired  leader.  Well  acquainted  with  the  geography  of  the 
whole  region,  he  had  planned  each  attack,  and  had  assigned 
to  each  band  and  leader  their  respective  stations  and  duties. 

Aftej-  his  plans  and  policy  had  been  well  matured  in  his 
mind,  Pontiac  called  a  grand  council  of  warriors  of  the  west 
ern  tribes,  the  Miamies,  the  Ottawas,  the  Chippewas,  the  Wy- 
andots,  the  Potawatamies,  the  Mississagas,  the  Shawanese, 
the  Outagamies,  and  the  Winnebagoes :  he  made  an  eloquent 
and  powerful  appeal  to  them  against  the  advance  of  the  Bri 
tish  power,  and  showed  them  a  belt  which  he  pretended  he  had 
received  from  the  French  king,  and  declared  that  he  was  urged 
by  him  to  aid  in  driving  out  the  British  and  securing  the 
return  of  the  French.  Taking  advantage  of  the  superstition 
which  belongs  to  the  Indian  character,  he  stated  that  the 

1  Lamnan's  Michigan.     Rogers's  Account  of  North  America. 


132  HISTORY   OF   WISCONSIN. 

Great  Spirit  had  appeared  to  a  Delaware  Indian  in  a  dream, 
in  which  the  course  of  the  Indians  at  this  crisis  was  clearly 
prescribed.  He  told  them  that  the  Great  Spirit  had  ordered 
them  to  abstain  from  ardent  spirits,  to  cast  away  the  manu 
factures  of  the  white  men,  to  return  to  the  use  of  the  skins 
of  wild  beasts  for  clothing,  and  to  resume  their  bows  and 
war-clubs.  "Why,"  said  the  Great  Spirit  to  the  Delaware, 
"  do  you  suffer  these  dogs  in  red-coats  (the  English)  to  enter 
your  country,  and  take  the  lands  I  have  given  to  you  ?  Drive 
them  from  it !  drive  them  !  and  when  you  are  in  trouble,  I 
will  help  you."  The  speech  of  Pontiac  had  its  full  effect,  for 
the  motives  urged  appealed  to  the  pride,  interest,  superstition, 
and  nationality  of  the  savages.  Belts  and  messages  were 
soon  after  sent  to  the  Indians  along  the  whole  line  of  frontier, 
stretching  a  thousand  miles  on  the  lakes,  in  order  to  secure 
their  co-operation.  The  above  enumerated  tribes  were  willing 
to  join  the  confederacy,  and  when  hostilities  were  commenced, 
every  energy  was  bent  to  their  effectual  prosecution.  Never 
did  military  commanders  of  any  nation  display  more  skill,  or 
their  troops  more  steady  and  determined  courage,  than  did  those 
red  men  of  the  wilderness  in  the  prosecution  of  their  gigantic 
plan  for  the  recovery  of  their  country  from  the  possession  of 
the  English.  It  was  a  war  of  extermination  on  a  large  scale, 
where  a  few  destitute  savage  tribes,  in  defence  of  their  coun 
try  and  their  homes,  were  arrayed  against  the  colossal  power 
and  resources  of  the  mistress  of  the  civilized  world  ;  a  contest 
where  human  nature,  in  its  simplest  state,  was  the  antagonist 
of  wealth,  civilization,  and  arts,  and  where  the  wild  man  was 
obliged  to  call  to  his  aid  all  the  power  of  stratagem,  treachery, 
revenge,  and  cruelty  against  the  innocent,  the  helpless,  and 
the  unoffending.  Such  is  the  stern  mode  of  savage  warfare, 
which  knows  no  mercy  to  the  feeble,  the  aged,  or  the  infant; 
where  the  youthful  mother  and  her  tender  infant  are  alike 
doomed  to  the  fate  of  the  tomahawk  and  scalping-knife.1 


1  Doddridge's  Notes.     Lanman's  Michigan.     Monette,  vol.  i.     Cass's  Dis 
course.     Thatcher's  Lives  of  the  Indians,  vol.  ii.     Parkman,  Hist. 


UNDER  BRITISH   DOMINION.  133 

Before  any  suspicion  had  been  excited  on  the  part  of  the 
English,  the  sanguinary  war  burst  upon  them  like  lightning 
from  the  overcharged  thunder-cloud.  In  the  month  of  May, 
1763,  the  attack  of  the  confederated  Indians  was  made  nearly 
at  the  same  time  on  all  the  British  posts,  nine  of  which  were 
captured,  namely,  Ouiatenon.  Green  Bay,  Michillimackinac, 
St.  Joseph's,  Miami,  Sandusky,  Presqu'isle,  Le  Beuf,  and  Ve- 
nango :  some  had  been  taken  by  open  attack,  others  by  stra 
tagem  and  treachery  ;  and  in  nearly  all  of  them  the  garrisons 
had  shared  the  fate  of  Indian  victory,  their  bodies  mangled 
in  triumph,  and  their  blood  quaffed  in  rage.  The  posts  of 
Presqu'isle,  St.  Joseph's,  and  Michillimackinac  were  taken, 
with  a  general  slaughter  of  the  garrisons. 

Besides  those  posts  which  fell  before  the  victorious  sa 
vages,  no  less  than  six  were  beleaguered  for  many  weeks  or 
months,  until  they  were  finally  relieved  by  reinforcements 
from  the  older  settlements  and  from  England.  The  principal 
of  these  were  Detroit,  Ligonier,  Bedford,  and  Loudon,  (all 
three  in  Pennsylvania,)  and  Cumberland,  (in  Maryland  :)  most 
of  these  were  reduced  to  great  extremities  before  relief 
reached  them.  Niagara  was  deemed  impregnable  to  the 
savages,  and  was  not  attacked.1 

In  addition  to  the  destruction  of  life  and  property  at  the 
forts,  and  in  their  immediate  vicinity,  the  frontier  settlements 
in  the  old  States,  from  the  Susquehanna  to  the  Roanoke, 
were  broken  up  with  indiscriminate  massacre  where  the  in 
habitants  were  unable  to  effect  a  timely  escape,  and  the  Eng 
lish  traders  among  the  Indians  were  the  first  victims  in  this 
contest ;  out  of  one  hundred  and  twenty  of  them,  it  is  said, 
only  two  or  three  escaped  the  general  destruction ;  and  to 
one  of  those  traders,  Alexander  Henry,  we  are  indebted  for 
a  vivid  picture  of  his  own  severe  sufferings,  and  the  massacre 
of  the  garrison,  on  the  disastrous  surprise  and  capture,  by 
Pontiac's  bands,  of  the  fort  at  Michillimackinac.2 

At  this  period,  prognostics  of  coming  evil  were  found  by 

1  Monette,  vol.  i.  2  Docum.  History. 


HISTORY  OF  WISCONSIN. 

the  simple  Canadians  in  the  unexplained  phenomenon  of 
the  fall  of  a  rain  of  inky  blackness  in  the  vicinity  of  Detroit. 
Pour  years  after  its  occurrence,  Carver,  who  was  on  the  spot, 
writes  as  follows  :  "In  the  year  1762,  in  the  month  of  July,  it 
rained  on  this  town  and  the  parts  adjacent,  a  sulphurous  water, 
of  the  colour  and  consistence  of  ink  ;  some  of  which  being  col 
lected  into  bottles,  and  wrote  with,  appeared  perfectly  intel 
ligible  on  the  paper,  and  answered  every  purpose  of  that 
useful  liquid.  Soon  after,  the  Indian  wars  already  spoken 
of,  broke  out  in  these  parts.  I  mean  not  to  say  that  this  in 
cident  was  ominous  of  them,  notwithstanding  it  is  well  known 
that  innumerable  well  attested  instances  of  extraordinary 
phenomena  happening  before  extraordinary  events,  have  been 
recorded  in  almost  every  age  by  historians  of  veracity.  I  only 
relate  the  circumstance  as  a  fact  of  which  I  was  informed  by 
many  persons  of  undoubted  probity,  and  leave  my  readers,  as 
I  have  hitherto  done,  to  draw  their  own  conclusions  from  it."1 

As  the  time  approached  for  the  accomplishment  of  Pon- 
tiac's  great  plan  of  attack  on  the  posts,  suspicions  of  the 
hostile  intentions  of  the  Indians  were  general,  and  even  in 
formation  of  the  approaching  danger  was  given  to  the  com 
mandant  at  Michillimackinac,  Major  George  Etherington,  by 
several  Canadians  least  hostile  to  the  English.  Mr.  Laurent 
Ducharme  distinctly  informed  him  that  a  plan  was  absolutely 
conceived  for  destroying  him,  his  garrison,  and  all  the  English 
in  the  upper  country  ;  but  the  commandant,  believing  this  and 
other  reports  to  be  without  foundation,  proceeding  only  from 
idle,  or  ill-disposed  persons,  and  of  a  tendency  to  do  mischief, 
expressed  much  displeasure  against  M.  Ducharme,  and  threat 
ened  to  send  the  next  person  who  should  bring  a  story  of  the 
same  kind,  a  prisoner  to  Detroit. 

The  garrison  at  this  time  consisted  of  ninety  privates,  two 
subalterns,  and  the  commandant ;  and  the  English  merchants 
at  the  fort  were  four  in  number.  Thus  strong,  few  enter 
tained  anxiety  concerning  the  Indians,  who  had  no  weapons 

1  Carver's  Travels. 


UNDER  BRITISH  DOMINION.  135 

but  small  arms.  Meanwhile  the  Indians  were  daily  assembling 
in  unusual  numbers,  but  with  every  appearance  of  friendship, 
frequenting  the  fort,  and  disposing  of  their  peltries  in  such  a 
manner  as  to  dissipate  almost  every  one's  fears.  Mr.  Henry, 
however,  observed  to  Major  Etherington,  that  no  confidence 
ought  to  be  placed  in  them,  and  that  no  less  than  four  hun 
dred  lay  around  the  fort.  The  major  only  rallied  him  on  his 
timidity,  and  neglected  every  admonition ;  but  the  same  rash 
heedlessness  in  the  midst  of  danger  is  acknowledged  on  the 
part  of  Henry  himself:  he  also  had  received  a  mysterious 
warning  from  a  friendly  Indian,  to  which  he  had  unfortunately 
turned  a  deaf  ear.  In  the  preceding  year,  a  Chippeway, 
named,  Wa'wa'tam,  often  came  to  Henry's  house,  showing 
him  strong  marks  of  personal  regard.  At  one  time  he  came 
•with  his  whole  family,  bringing  a  large  present  of  skins,  sugar, 
and  dried  meat,  and  begged  Henry  to  accept  of  them,  as  he 
had  dreamed  of  adopting  an  Englishman  as  his  son,  brother, 
and  friend,  and  from  the  moment  he  had  seen  Henry  he  had 
recognised  him  as  the  person  whom  the  Great  Spirit  had  been 
pleased  to  point  out  to  him  for  a  brother,  and  that  he  should 
ever  regard  him  as  one  of  his  family.  Henry  accepted  the 
present,  gave  the  Indian  one  in  return,  and  acceded  to  the 
proffered  tie  of  friendship  and  brotherhood  between  them ; 
Wa'wa'tam  then  went  on  his  winter's  hunt. 

A  year  had  now  elapsed  since  the  occurrence  of  this  inci 
dent,  and  Henry  had  almost  forgotten  the  person  of  his  brother, 
when,  on  the  second  day  of  June,  (two  days  before  the  mas 
sacre,)  Wa'wa'tam  came  to  Henry's  house  melancholy  and 
thoughtful.  Henry  asked  after  his  health ;  but  without  an 
swering  the  question,  Wa'wa'tam  told  him  he  was  sorry  to 
see  that  he  had  returned  from  Sault  Ste.  Marie ;  that  he  in 
tended  to  go  immediately  from  Michillimackinac  to  the  Sault, 
and  wished  Henry  to  accompany  him  and  his  family  the  next 
morning.  To  all  this  he  joined  an  inquiry,  whether  Henry's 
commandant  had  heard  lad  news,  adding  that  he  had  himself 
been  frequently,  during  the  winter,  disturbed  with  the  noise 
of  evil  birds;  and  suggested  that  there  were  numerous  Indians 


136  HISTORY  OF  WISCONSIN. 

near  the  fort,  many  of  whom  had  never  shown  themselves 
within  it. 

Henry  told  him  he  could  not  think  of  going  to  the  Sault  so' 
soon,  but  would  follow  him  there,  after  the  arrival  of  his  clerks. 
The  Indian  then  withdrew,  but  came  again  next  morning,, 
accompanied  by  his  wife,  bringing  a  present  of  dried  meat. 
He  told  Henry  he  had  several  packs  of  beaver  to  trade  with 
him,  expressed  his  apprehensions,  a  second  time,  concerning 
the  numerous  Indians  around  the  fort,  and  earnestly  pressed 
Hertry  to  depart  immediately  for  the  Sault,  stating  as  a 
reason,  that  all  the  Indians  proposed  to  come  in  a  body  that  day 
to  the  fort,  to  demand  liquor  of  the  commandant,  and  he 
wished  him  to  be  gone  before  they  should  grow  intoxicated. 

Unfortunately,  Henry  did  not  sufficiently  comprehend  the 
figurative  language  of  the  friendly  Indian,  nor  take  the  hints 
which  subsequent  events  rendered  perfectly  lucid  ;  and  having 
refused  to  go  with  Wa'wa'tam  and  his  wife,  after  their  long 
and  patient  efforts  to  persuade  him,  they  departed  alone  with 
dejected  countenances,  and  not  before  they  had  each  let  fall 
some  tears. 

In  the  course  of  the  same  day,  Mr.  Henry  observed  that 
the  Indians  came  in  great  numbers  into  the  fort,  purchasing 
tomahawks,  and  frequently  desiring  to  see  silver  arm-bands, 
and  other  valuable  ornaments,  of  which  he  had  a  large  quan 
tity  for  sale.  These  ornaments,  however,  they  in  no  instance 
purchased,  but  after  turning  them  over,  said  they  would  call 
again  the  next  day.  Their  motive,  as  it  afterward  appeared, 
was  no  other  than  the  very  artful  one  of  discovering,  by  re 
questing  to  see  them,  the  particular  places  of  their  deposit,  so 
that  they  might  lay  their  hands  on  them,  in  the  moment  of. 
pillage, with  the  greater  certainty  and  despatch.1 

The  next  day,  being  the  4th  of  June,  was  the  king's  birth 
day  ;  more  memorable  as  the  day  on  which  the  fort  was  sur 
prised  by  a  stratagem,  doubtless  contrived  by  the  master 
spirit  of  Pontiac,  and  successfully  carried  into  effect  under 

1  Henry's  Travels,  passim. 


UNDER  BRITISH   DOMINION.  137 

his  direction,  although  at  the  time,  he  himself  was  near 
Detroit. 

In  order  to  do  honour  to  the  day,  and  to  add  to  the  festivities, 
it  was  proposed  that  the  game  of  baggatiwdy,  an  Indian  ball- 
play,  generally  called  by  the  French  le  jeu  de  la  crosse,  should 
be  played  between  the  Chippewas  and  Sacs  for  a  high  wager. 
It  was  stated  that  the  commandant  was  to  bet  on  the  side  of  the 
Chippewas ;  Mr.  Henry,  for  the  last  time,  expostulated  with 
Major  Etherington,  and  suggested  that  the  Indians  might  have 
some  sinister  design  in  view,  but  his  caution  and  advice  were 
alike  fruitless. 

The  game  of  la  crosse,  or  baggatiway,  is  played  with  a 
bat  and  ball ;  two  posts  are  planted  in  the  ground,  about  a 
mile  apart,  and  each  party  having  its  post,  the  object  is  to 
propel  the  ball,  which  is  placed  in  the  centre,  toward  the  post 
of  the  adversary.  In  the  ardour  of  contest,  if  the  ball  cannot 
be  driven  to  the  desired  goal,  it  is  struck  in  any  direction  by 
which  it  can  be  diverted  from  that  designed  by  the  opposite 
party.  To  view  this  game,  Major  Etherington,  who  had 
wagered  on  the  side  of  the  Chippewas,  was  not  only  present 
himself,  but  all  the  garrison  who  could  be  induced,  were  by 
some  pretext  drawn  outside  of  the  pickets,  in  order  to  weaken 
the  defences  of  the  fort.  The  stratagem  of  the  Indians  was 
soon  developed. 

The  design  was  to  throw  the  ball  over  the  pickets,  which 
was  accomplished ;  and  as  in  the  heat  of  the  game  such  an 
event  was  not  liable  to  excite  any  extraordinary  alarm,  so  the 
immediate  and  promiscuous  rushing  of  the  Indians  into  the 
fort,  in  pursuit  of  the  ball,  was,  for  a  moment,  regarded  as  a 
mere  natural  consequence.  But  in  an  instant,  the  war-yell 
was  heard  within  the  pickets,  and  the  Indians  were  seen 
furiously  cutting  down  and  scalping  every  Englishman  whom 
they  could  discover ;  the  Canadians  around  the  fort  neither 
opposed  the  Indians,  nor  received  any  injury  from  them. 
Heaps  of  dead  lay  around  the  fort,  scalped  and  mangled ; 
the  dying  were  shrieking  and  writhing  under  the  toma 
hawk  and  scalping-knife,  and  the  bodies  of  the  English 


138  HISTORY  OF  WISCONSIN. 

soldiers  were  gashed,  and  their  blood  was  drank  by  the 
savages  from  the  hollows  of  joined  hands,  amid  demon-like 
yells.1 

According  to  the  testimony  of  the  eye-witness,  Mr.  Henry, 
who  escaped  the  general  massacre  in  a  miraculous  manner,  no 
less  than  seventy  soldiers,  together  with  Lieutenant  Jemette, 
had  been  killed,  and  but  twenty  Englishmen,  including  sol 
diers,  were  still  alive  ;2  these  were  all  within  the  fort,  together 
with  nearly  three  hundred  Canadians,  who  belonged  to  the 
canoes,  &c.,  and  upon  whom  no  reliance  could  be  placed  for 
any  aid  in  the  recovery  of  the  fort,  and  maintaining  its  posses 
sion  against  the  Indians. 

The  fort  at  Green  Bay  had  received  an  English  garrison 
in  1761,  which  consisted  of  seventeen  men,  under  the  com 
mand  of  Lieutenant  Gorell :  the  prudent  conduct  of  the 
commandant  had  secured  the  good-will  of  all  the  surrounding 
tribes;  but  although  it  escaped  the  fate  of  Michillimackinac, 
it  was  soon  abandoned  by  orders  of  Major  Etherington,  and 
the  garrison,  with  Lieutenant  Gorell,  afterward  were  escorted 
by  a  band  of  friendly  Menominees  to  L'Arbre  Croche,  where 
they  met  with  Major  Etherington  and  the  remnant  of  his 
command,  who  were  still  detained  as  prisoners.  On  the  18th 
of  July  they  were  liberated,  and  the  whole  party  reached 
Montreal,  by  way  of  the  river  Ottawa,  about  the  middle  of 
August.3 

A  missionary  post  had  been  established  at  the  mouth  of  the 
river  St.  Joseph,  in  1712  ;  it  had  also  been  erected  afterward 
into  a  military  post.  This  was  also  surprised  and  captured 
by  Pontiac's  bands,  on  the  25th  of  May,  1763 ;  there  was  an 
officer  and  fourteen  men  stationed  there  at  the  time,  eleven  of 
whom  were  killed  in  the  assault  and  capture  by  the  Indians. 

We  have  observed  that  La  Motte  Cadillac  was  the  founder 
of  Detroit;  in  1701,  he  planted  there  the  little  military 
colony.  Major  Rogers  tells  us  that  at  the  close  of  the  French 

1  Lanman's  Michigan.     Henry's  Travels. 

2  See  Bancroft,  vol.  v.  121,  as  to  errors  in  Henry's  account. 

3  See  Note  C. 


UNDER  BRITISH  DOMINION.  139 

war,  the  place  contained  two  thousand  five  hundred  inhabit 
ants.  Within  the  limits  of  the  settlement  there  were  three 
large  Indian  villages.  On  the  western  shore,  a  little  below 
the  fort,  were  the  lodges  of  the  Pottawatamies ;  nearly  oppo 
site,  on  the  eastern  side,  was  the  village  of  the  Wyandots ; 
and  on  the  same  side,  two  miles  higher  up,  Pontiac's  band  of 
Ottawas  had  fixed  their  abode.  The  settlers  always  main 
tained  the  best  terms  with  their  savage  neighbours.  The  Bri 
tish  took  possession,  in  an  evil  hour  for  the  Canadians,  towards 
the  close  of  the  year  1760. l 

;•  Detroit  was  then  deemed  the  most  important  of  the  north 
western  posts,  as  it  commanded  an  extensive  region  of  navi 
gation  and  trade  upon  the  upper  lakes,  and  stood  at  the  very 
broad  gate  of  the  western  waters.  At  the  city,  the  Detroit 
River  is  about  half  a  mile  wide.  The  possession  of  this  post 
would  break  the  allegiance  of  the  French  inhabitants  on  the 
river,  and  form  a  chain  of  operations  for  the  savages,  from 
Lake  Michigan  to  Buffalo  and  Pittsburg.  Pontiac  determined, 
therefore,  to  undertake  its  capture  in  person.  His  forces  con 
sisted  of  two  hundred  and  fifty  Ottawas,  one  hundred  and 
fifty  Pottawatamies,  fifty  Wyandots,  two  hundred  Ojibwas 
under  Wasson,  one  hundred  and  seventy  under  Sekahos ;  in 
all,  eight  hundred  and  twenty  warriors.  At  this  time,  the 
town  was  garrisoned  by  one  hundred  and  twenty-two  men  and 
eight  officers,  of  whom  Major  Gladwyn,  who  had  succeeded 
Captain  Campbell,  was  commandant.2 

The  stratagem  devised  by  Pontiac  to  gain  possession  of  this 
important  post  exhibited  much  cunning,  and  promised  suc 
cess  if  the  deception  should  not  be  discovered.  His  plan  was 
to  gain  admission  to  the  fort,  for  the  pretended  purpose  of  hold 
ing  a  council  with  the  commandant ;  his  chiefs  and  warriors,  who 
were  to  accompany  him  to  this  council,  were  to  have  their 
rifles  concealed  under  their  blankets,  and,  at  a  preconcerted 
signal,  which  was  the  delivery  of  a  belt  of  wampum  in  a  cer 
tain  manner,  by  Pontiac,  in  the  course  of  his  speech,  to  Major 

*  Parkman.         2  Cass's  Discourse.     Lanman's  Michigan.     See  Note  D. 


140  HISTORY  OF  WISCONSIN. 

Gladwin,  they  were  to  fire  on  the  officers  in  the  council-cham 
ber,  rush  on  the  troops,  and  open  the  gates  to  the  warriors 
on  the  outside  of  the  fort,  who  were  to  be  ready  to  co-operate 
with  those  within.  To  carry  this  plan  into  execution,  he 
encamped  at  a  little  distance  from  Detroit,  and  sent  word  to- 
Major  Gladwyn,  that  he  and  his  chiefs  wished  to  hold  a  coun 
cil  with  the  English  commandant,  in  order  to  "  brighten  the 
chain  of  peace."  This  was  on  the  8th  of  May,  1763  ;  Major 
Gladwyn  appointed  the  next  day  for  holding  the  council. 
Pontiac  in  the  mean  time  had  ordered  his  warriors  to  saw 
off  their  rifles,  so  as  the  more  readily  to  conceal  them  under 
their  blankets,  which  was  done. 

On  the  evening  of  the  8th  of  May,  an  Indian  woman,  wha 
had  been  employed  by  the  commandant  in  making  mocassins 
for  him,  feeling  grateful  for  his  kindness  to  her,  brought 
home  to  him  her  work,  and  by  her  mysterious  conduct,  and 
unwillingness  to  depart  from  the  fort,  excited  the  curiosity 
of  Major  Gladwyn,  who  called  the  woman  before  him;  and 
after  interrogation  as  to  the  motives  of  her  conduct,  she  dis 
closed  to  the  commandant  the  details  of  Pontiac's  stratagem 
to  surprise  the  fort,  with  all  the  circumstances  of  the  short 
ened  rifles,  and  the  concerted  signal  of  massacre  by  the  par 
ticular  mode  of  delivering  the  belt  of  wampum.  The  woman 
was  permitted  to  depart,  with  assurances  of  safety  and 
reward. 

On  the  following  day,  at  ten  o'clock,  Pontiac  and  his  war 
riors,  with  their  concealed  arms,  were  admitted  to  the  council 
by  Major  Gladwyn,  who  had  already  taken  every  necessary 
precaution  to  frustrate  the  Indian  stratagem,  and  given  the 
proper  direction  to  his  officers  and  soldiers  to  be  fully  on  their 
guard,  and  prepared  to  act  at  the  moment  when  the  Indian 
signal  was  expected  to  be  given.  Accordingly,  when  Pontiac, 
in  the  course  of  his  speech,  had  arrived  at  that  point  when 
the  belt  of  wampum  should  be  delivered,  Major  Gladwyn  and 
his  officers  laid  their  hands  on  their  swords,  half  drew  themr 
and  the  soldiers  within  and  without  the  council-room  made  a 
martial  clatter  with  their  fire-arms.  Pontiac  immediately 


UNDER  BRITISH   DOMINION. 

became  disconcerted,  and  his  preconcerted  signal  was  not 
given  ;  consequently  his  chiefs  remained  quiet  in  their  places, 
looking  at  each  other  with  astonishment.  Major  Gladwyn 
then  addressed  Pontiac,  reproaching  him  with  his  premeditated 
treachery,  and  informed  him  that  the  English  could  not  thus 
be  circumvented,  as  they  had  knowledge  of  all  things.  Pon 
tiac  attempted  to  deny  the  charge  made  against  him  of 
treachery,  but  Major  Gladwyn  seized  the  blanket  of  the  war 
rior  next  to  him,  and  exposed  the  hidden  and  shortened  rifle. 
He  then  ordered  Pontiac  and  his  chiefs  to  quit  the  fort  imme 
diately,  telling  him  that  his  word  had  been  pledged  for  their 
safety  at  the  council,  and  he  would  not  violate  it.  The 
Indians  soon  left  the  fort,  and  instantly  set  up  their  yells  of 
defiance  and  fired  at  the  stockades.  The  same  evening  they 
committed  several  murders  arid  other  depredations  in  the 
vicinity,  and  the  siege  of  Detroit  was  from  that  time  regularly 
commenced.  The  savages  stationed  themselves  behind  the 
buildings  which  were  scattered  outside  the  pickets,  and  from 
these  as  well  as  the  pickets,  they  kept  up  a  constant  fire  on 
the  British,  without,  however,  doing  much  damage.1 

The  post  was  regularly  invested,  and  Pontiac  demanded 
its  surrender  by  capitulation,  requiring  the  British  to  lay 
down  their  arms  and  march  out,  as  the  French  had  done. 
This  having  been  refused,  he  renewed  his  attacks  with 
increased  vigour  and  frequency.  So  unremitted  were  they, 
that  for  several  weeks  neither  the  officers  nor  men  within  the 
fort  were  allowed  to  take  off  their  clothes  to  sleep,  all  being 
constantly  engaged  about  the  ramparts. 

Every  stratagem  that  Indian  cunning  could  devise  was  put 
in  operation ;  parties  were  continually  hovering  near  the  fort, 
under  some  concealment,  for  the  purpose  of  taking  off,  by  their 
marksmen,  any  who  might  incautiously  expose  themselves; 
other  detachments  scoured  the  country  around  in  every  direc 
tion,  to  intercept  every  kind  of  aid  or  succour  intended  for  the 
garrison  ;  floating  fire-rafts  were  constructed,  and  sent  against 

'See  NoteE. 


142  HISTORY  OF   WISCONSIN. 

the  two  vessels  lying  in  the  river,  and  they  were  with  diffi 
culty  preserved  from  the  flames.  A  strong  detachment,  sent 
from  Niagara  for  the  relief  of  the  fort,  was  entirely  cut  off, 
and  the  supplies  of  provisions,  arms,  and  ammunition,  which 
they  brought,  were  captured  by  the  Indians.  Nor  was  this- 
state  of  things  the  sole  source  of  annoyance  to  the  belea 
guered  garrison  ;  scenes  of  unparalleled  barbarity  were  daily 
perpetrated  in  the  vicinity  of  the  fort,  and  it  was  a  matter  of 
almost  daily  occurrence  for  the  garrison  to  behold  the  dead 
and  mangled  bodies  of  their  countrymen  floating  past  the  fort. 
Every  family  and  individual  in  the  neighbourhood  had  been, 
murdered  in  the  most  horrid  manner,  and  every  habitation 
destroyed  by  fire. 

In  July,  a  reinforcement  of  two  hundred  and  sixty  regular 
troops,  under  Captain  Dalyell,  arrived  in  safety  at  the  fort, 
from  Niagara.  This  was  on  the  29th;  and,  in  the  evening  of 
the  30th,  a  sortie  was  made  by  two  hundred  and  forty-seven 
chosen  men,  commanded  by  Dalyell,  against  the  Indian  breast 
work,  about  a  mile  from  the  fort.  It  was  a  disastrous  affair. 
They  were  met  by  a  concealed  fire  from  the  Indians,  accom 
panied  by  a  furious  assault ;  and  notwithstanding  the  brave- 
resistance  of  the  troops,  and  their  determined  charge  against 
unseen  foes,  in  the  darkness  of  night,  they  were  compelled 
to  retire  toward  the  fort,  fighting  their  way  every  step ;  nine 
teen  men  were  killed,  and  forty-two  wounded.  Captain  Dal 
yell  was  among  the  slain. 

In  August,  some  of  the  Indians,  allies  of  Pontiac,  becoming, 
perhaps,  in  some  measure  disheartened  by  the  fruitless  length 
of  the  siege,  retired  to  their  respective  homes ;  but  Pontiac 
remained,  and  continued  to  annoy  the  garrison  from  time  to- 
time  until  the  spring  of  1764.  In  the  month  of  June,  General 
Bradstreet  arrived  at  Detroit,  with  a  force  of  three  thousand 
men,  for  the  purpose  of  compelling  a  peace  with  the  tribes  of 
the  Northwest.  The  Indians,  representing  twenty-two  tribes, 
had  already  concluded  a  peace  with  the  general  at  Niagara. 
Among  these  were  eleven  of  the  tribes  of  the  Northwest,  but 
Pontiac  was  not  included.  On  the  arrival  of  the  English 


UNDER  BRITISH   DOMINION. 

force  at  Detroit,  the  tribes  of  Pontiac  laid  down  their  arms, 
and,  with  the  exception  of  the  Delawares  and  Shawanese,  con 
cluded  a  treaty  of  peace ;  Pontiac,  however,  took  no  part  in 
the  negotiation,  and  soon  after  retired  to  the  Illinois,  where 
he  was  killed  in  1767,  by  a  Peoria  Indian.1  It  may  be  remarked, 
that  the  Ottawas,  the  Pottawatamies,  the  Chippewas,  and 
other  northern  tribes,  united  in  a  common  cause  to  revenge 
his  death,  and  nearly  exterminated  the  Illinois. 

We  must  regret  that  our  knowledge  of  Pontiac  and  his  war 
is  very  limited,  although,  of  late  years,  literary  research  has 
brought  to  light  many  valuable  manuscripts,  detailing  events 
of  his  extraordinary  enterprises  and  career,  and  more  is  hoped 
for.2  Among  many  instances  of  elevation  of  feeling,  related 
of  Pontiac,  it  is  stated,  that  on  one  occasion  Col.  Rogers  sent 
to  him  a  bottle  of  brandy ;  Pontiac's  warriors  cautioned  him 
not  to  taste  it  lest  it  might  be  poisoned;  Pontiac  rejected 
their  advice,  saying,  «  He  cannot  take  my  life,  I  have  saved 
his  !"  In  commenting  on  this  anecdote,  the  Abbe  Raynal 
remarks,  "A  hundred  traits  of  equal  elevation  have  fixed  upon 
Pontiac  the  gaze  of  the  savage  nations.  He  wished  to  re 
unite  all  his  tribes,  for  the  purpose  of  making  their  territory 
and  independence  respected,  but  unforeseen  circumstances  pre 
vented  the  project.3  The  terrific  drama  got  up  by  this  son 
of  the  forest  stamps  his  name  with  greatness.  The  living 
marble  and  the  glowing  canvas  may  not  embody  his  works ; 
but  they  are  identified  with  the  soil  of  the  Western  forest,  and 
will  live  as  long  as  the  remembrance  of  its  aboriginal  inhabit 
ants — the  Algonquin  race.4 

No  Englishman,  and  few  of  any  other  nation,  save  the  soli 
tary  French  trader,  or  the  devoted  missionary,  had  hitherto 
ventured  into  the  country  of  the  Upper  Mississippi,  or  beyond 
the  western  shores  of  Lake  Michigan,  and  the  mouth  of  Fox 
River  at  Green  Bay.  The  restoration  of  peace  between  the 
new  masters  of  the  country  and  the  Indian  tribes,  and  tho 

i  Monette,  vol.  i.  and  authorities.  2  Parkman,  Lanman,  Nicollet. 

s  Raynal,  Hist.  Phil.  4  Lanman. 


144  HISTORY  OF   WISCONSIN. 

very  natural  desire  of  the  English  to  reap  the  advantages  of 
their  new  possessions,  doubly  secured  by  them,  first  by  con 
quest,  and  now  by  treaties  of  concession  by  the  French,  and 
of  toleration  and  peace  by  the  Indians — all  contributed  to  the 
expectations  of  a  gradual,  if  not  speedy  occupation  and  set 
tlement  of  the  fine  country  between  the  great  Lakes  and  the 
Mississippi. 

The  projects  and  views  of  Captain  Jonathan  Carver, 
had  they  been  carried  into  effect,  would  undoubtedly  have 
resulted  in  beneficial  eifects,  both  to  the  colonial  region  and 
the  mother  country.  Carver  gives  us  his  own  plans,  and 
states  reasonable  grounds  for  his  expectations  of  their  success. 
He  wished  to  acquire,  by  personal  observation  and  adventu 
rous  exploration,  an  accurate  knowledge  of  the  vast  territory 
in  the  Northwest,  so  lately  come  into  the  possession  of  Great 
Britain.  He  proposed  to  correct  all  inaccurate  maps  and 
charts  of  the  country  and  its  waters,  and  to  rectify  and 
restore  the  proper  nomenclature  of  the  nations  and  tribes 
who  inhabited  it,  and  of  the  locations  and  objects  within  it. 
After  gaining  a  knowledge  of  the  manners,  customs,  lan 
guages,  soil,  and  natural  productions  of  the  different  nations 
that  inhabit  the  back  of  the  Mississippi,  he  contemplated  to 
ascertain  the  breadth  of  that  vast  continent  which  extends 
from  the  Atlantic  to  the  Pacific  Ocean,  in  its  broadest  part 
between  forty-three  and  forty-six  degrees  northern  latitude. 
In  case  of  his  success  in  this,  he  intended  to  propose  to  the 
government  to  establish  a  post  in  some  of  those  parts  about 
the  Straits  of  Annian,  which,  having  been  first  discovered  by 
Sir  Francis  Drake,  of  course  belonged  to  the  English.  This 
(he  was  convinced)  would  greatly  facilitate  the  discovery  of 
a  northwest  passage,  or  a  communication  between  Hudson's 
Bay  and  the  Pacific  Ocean.  To  accomplish  these  highly 
desirable  results,  he  proposed  to  assume  the  character  of 
trader  as  well  as  traveller;  and  accordingly  we  find  him,  in 
September,  1766,  in  the  prosecution  of  his  enterprise,  at  the 
remote  post  of  Michillirnackinac ;  and  having  been  here  sup 
plied  with  a  proper  assortment  of  goods  by  Col.  Rogers,  the 


UNDER  BRITISH   DOMINION.  145 

commandant,  Carver  proceeded,  by  way  of  Green  Bay  and 
the  Fox  and  Wisconsin  Rivers,  to  Prairie  du  Chien,  where  he 
arrived  on  the  15th  of  October.  ^ 

In  somewhat  of  the  spirit  of  prophecy,  Carver  remarks, 
«  To  what  power  or  authority  this  new  world  will  become 
dependent,  after  it  has  arisen  from  its  present  uncultivated 
state,  time  alone  can  discover.  But  as  the  seat  of  empire 
from  time  immemorial  had  been  gradually  progressive  toward 
the  west,  there  is  no  doubt  but  that,  at  some  future  period, 
mighty  kingdoms  will  emerge  from  these  wildernesses,  and 
stately  palaces  and  solemn  temples,  with  gilded  spires  reach 
ing  the  skies,  supplant  the  Indian  huts,  whose  only  decora 
tions  are  the  barbarous  trophies  of  their  vanquished  enemies."1 

At  the  time  Carver  was  at  Fort  La  Baye,  at  the  mouth  of 
Fox  River,  on  the  18th  of  September,  1766,  there  was  no 
garrison  there,  nor  had  it  been  kept  in  repair  since  it  had 
been  abandoned  by  Lieut.  Gorell  ;  a  few  families  lived  in  the 
fort,  and  opposite  to  it,  on  the  east  side  of  the  river,  there 
were  a  few  French  settlers,  who  cultivated  the  land  and 
appeared  to  live  comfortably.  The  inhabitants  of  the  coasts 
denominated  the  bay  "Menominee  Bay" — the  French,  "la- 
Baye  des  Puants" — and  the  English,  since  they  had  obtained 
possession  of  this  part  of  tho  country,  '-Green  Bay,"  for  the 
reason  that  on  leaving  Michillimackinac  in  the  spring  season, 
though  the  trees  there  have  not  even  put  forth  their  buds,  yet 
the  country  around  La  Baye,  notwithstanding  the  passage 
has  not  exceeded  fourteen  days,  is  found  covered  with  the 
finest  verdure,  and  vegetation  as  forward  as  it  could  be, 
were  it  sunnnev.2 

Proceeding  up  the  Fox  River,  our  traveller  arrived  at  tho 
island  at,  the  east  end  of  Lake  Winnebago,  now  known  as 
Doty's  Island.  Here  he  found  tho  great  town  of  the  Winne- 
baiMM's,  over  which  ti  i'oe  a  wonun  held  the  chief  power,  and 
who  received  him  kindly  and  entertained  him  with  great  hos- 
luring  the  three  or  four  days  he  remained  there. 


1  Carver's  Travels.  2  Idem. 

VOL.  1.  — 10 


146  HISTORY  OF  WISCONSIN. 

At  this  period,  the  Winnebagoes  could  raise  about  two  hun 
dred  warriors,  and  their  town  here  contained  about  fifty 
houses  strongly  built  with  palisades.  Another  town  belong 
ing  to  the  same  nation,  but  smaller  than  this  one  on  the 
island,  stood  forty  miles  higher  up  the  river.  The  traveller 
finally  reached  the  carrying  place,  memorably  signalized  by 
the  first  adventurers,  Marquette  and  Joliet,  and  having  crossed 
over  a  morass  of  three-fourths  of  a  mile  in  length,  and  a 
plain  with  some  few  oaks  and  pine  trees  growing  thereon,  of 
the  same  distance,  Carver  entered  the  Wisconsin.1 

On  reaching  the  point  long  familiarly  known  as  the  Por 
tage,  and  more  recently,  in  Wisconsin,  as  the  site  of  "  Por 
tage  City,"  Carver  remarks,  "I  observed  that  the  main  body 
of  the  Fox  River  came  from  the  southwest,  and  that  of  the 
Ouisconsin  from  the  northeast ;  and  also  that  some  of  the  small 
branches  of  these  two  rivers,  in  descending  into  them,  doubled, 
within  a  few  feet  of  each  other,  a  little  to  the  south  of  the 
carrying  place.  That  two  such  rivers  should  take  their  rise 
so  near  each  other,  and  after  running  such  different  courses, 
empty  themselves  into  the  sea  at  a  distance  so  amazing,  (for  the 
former,  having  passed  through  several  large  lakes,  and  run 
upward  of  two  thousand  miles,  falls  into  the  Gulf  of  St.  Law 
rence;  and  the  other,  after  joining  the  Mississippi,  and  hav 
ing  run  an  equal  number  of  miles,  disembogues  itself  into  the 
Gulf  of  Mexico,)  is  an  instance  scarcely  to  be  met  in  the 
extensive  continent  of  North  America.  I  had  an  opportunity 
the  year  following,  of  making  the  same  observation  on  the 
affinity  of  various  head  branches  of  the  waters  of  the  St. 
Lawrence  and  the  Mississippi,  to  each  other ;  and  now  bring 
them  as  a  proof  that  the  opinion  of  those  geographers,  who 
assert  that  rivers  taking  their  rise  so  near  to  each  other,  must 
spring  from  the  same  source,  is  erroneous.  For  I  perceived 
a  visible,  distinct  separation  in  all  of  them,  notwithstanding 
in  some  places  they  approached  so  near,  that  I  could  have 
stepped  from  one  to  the  other."?  This  remark  of  Carver 

1  See  Note  F.  2  Carver's  Travels. 


UNDER  BRITISH   DOMINION.  147 

*\ 

does  not  appear  to  be  strictly  applicable  to  the  Fox  and 
Wisconsin  Rivers ;  for  although  at  this  point  of  the  Por 
tage,  their  waters  approach  each  other  within  two  miles, 
yet  it  is  well  known  that  the  main  source  of  the  Wisconsin 
is  in  Lac  Vieux  Desert,  or  Kattekittekon,  some  two  hun 
dred  miles  north  of  the  Portage ;  and  that  the  Fox  River 
receives  also  from  the  north  many  large  tributaries,  one  of 
which,  Wolf  River,  has  its  source  in  Lac  du  Port,  some  one 
hundred  and  twenty  miles  north  of  its  entrance  into  Lake 
Winnebago,  which  latter  becomes  for  a  time  a  common  recep 
tacle  for  all  the  streams  running  eastward,  until  the  whole 
mass  of  waters  is  discharged  by  the  Lower  Fox  River  inter 
Green  Bay. 

>  Proceeding  down  the  Wisconsin  River,  Carver  arrived  at  the 
great  village  of  the  Saukies,  situate  on  what  is  now  known  as 
Prairie  du  Sac,  or  Sank  Prairie.  Here  it  must  be  acknow 
ledged  that  the  fancy  of  the  traveller  appears  to  have 
greatly  embellished  his  facts,  as  he  describes  streets  regularly 
laid  out,  houses  built  of  hewn  plank,  and  having  porches  be 
fore  the  doors  for  the  luxuriant  indulgences  of  the  inhabitants ; 
that  the  town  is  considered  as  a  great  mart  for  furnishing  pro 
visions  to  traders,  and  tfyat  lead  is  so  plentiful  that  large 
quantities  of  it  wQre  lying  about  the  streets.  It  also  states 
that  he  visited  a  lead  region,  about  fifteen  miles  to  the  south, 
and  ascended  one  of  the  mountains,  whence  he  had  an  exten 
sive  view  of  the  country :  this  was  evidently  at  the  Blue 
Mounds,  as  the  locality  is  described  with  sufficient  accuracy. 
Descending  the  river,  he  arrives  at  a  deserted  village  of  the 
Outagamies,  and  finally  reaches  Prairie  du  Chien,  where  their 
great  business  town  was  situated.1 

The  accounts  of  Carver,  thus  given,  of  the  country  through 
which  he  passed  in  1766,  furnish,  at  least,  negative  testimony 
relative  to  there  being  any  occupancy  or  attempt  at  settle 
ment,  on  the  part  of  the  whites,  from  Green  Bay  to  the  Mis 
sissippi  ;  if  such  had  been  the  fact,  he  undoubtedly  would 

1  Note  G.     See  chap,  ii.  ante. 


148  HISTORY  OP  WISCONSIN. 

"have  mentioned  it.  At  this  time  lie  finds  no  European  at 
Prairie  du  Chien  ;  but,  on  the  shore  of  Lake  Pcpin,  he  ob 
served  the  ruins  of  a  French  factory,  where,  it  is  said,  Captain 
St.  Pierre  resided,  and  carried  on  a  very  great  trade  with  tho 
Naudowessies  before  the  reduction  of  Canada. 

Having  explored  the  country  above  the  Falls  of  St.  An 
thony  as  high  up  the  Mississippi  as  the  river  St.  Francis, 
where  only  Ilennepin  had  been  before  him,  he  ascended  tho 
St.  Peter's  River,  or  Waddapaw-Mcnesotor,  about  two  hundred 
miles,  and  resided  for  many  months  with  the  Naudowessies  of 
the  Plains,  with  whom,  and  other  tribes,  he  entered  into  a 
compact,  confirmed  in  council  at  the  Great  Cave,  on  the  first 
of  May,  1767,  that  these  Indian  nations  should  be  taken  under 
the  protection  of  the  King  of  England  henceforth,  and  that 
trading-posts  should  be  immediately  established,  and  traders 
sent  among  them.  Carver  says,  that  he  was  made  a  chief, 
and  it  has  been  claimed  on  his  part  afterward,  that  a  tract  of 
country  more  than  one  hundred  miles  square  was  then 
granted  to  him  by  the  Naudowessies  in  consideration  of  his 
eminent  services  rendered  to  them  in  peace  and  war.  But 
Carver  makes  not  the  slightest  mention  of  such  a  grant,  in 
his  published  book ;  and  the  greater  probability  is,  that  if  any 
such  grant  or  concession  was  made  by  the  Indians,  it  was 
only  for  the  purposes  of  trading-posts,  and  possibly  for  esta 
blishments  for  protection  and  defence.  The  intended  action 
of  the  British  Government  in  relation  to  this  supposed  grant, 
at  a  subsequent  period,  was  frustrated  by  the  American  Revo 
lution  ;  but  according  to  the  evidence  produced  by  the  repre 
sentatives  of  Carver  before  the  Congress  of  tho  United 
States,  in  support  of  their  claim  under  this  grant,  it  appears 
that  the  king  and  council  considered  the  concession  by  tho 
Indians  as  conferring  a  right  of  occupancy  by  the  British 
Government,  and  not  as  the  gift  of  a  principality  to  a  private 
subject.1 

It  has  been  already  remarked,  that  the  whole  country  west 

1  Docum.  History.     Carver's  Grant.     Ante,  chap.  ii. 


UNDER  BRITISH   DOMINION.  140 

of  Lake  Michigan,  and  south  of  the  Wisconsin  River,  to  the 
junction  of  the  Wabash  (or  Ohio)  with  the  Mississippi,  was 
generally  designated  as  the  Illinois  country  ;  the  southern 
portion  of  this  territory  had  for  nearly  half  a  century  been 
devoted  to  agriculture  and  the  Indian  trade,  and  it  now  con 
tained  many  flourishing  settlements.  The  French,  in  making 
these  settlements  on  the  Illinois  and  Wabash  Rivers,  had 
adopted  a  wise  and  benevolent  policy,  well  adapted  to  insure 
unity  and  harmony  among  themselves,  and  to  secure  the  good 
will  and  friendship  of  the  numerous  tribes  in  the  North-west 
by  which  they  were  surrounded.  While  other  colonies  wero 
continually  embroiled  with  the  natives  in  exterminating  wars, 
they  sought  peace  and  friendship  ;  lived  in  harmony  and  mu 
tual  confidence  with  their  Indian  neighbours  ;  associated  with 
them  in  their  migrations  and  explorations  of  remote  waters 
and  hunting-grounds,  like  a  band  of  brothers,  and  as  equally 
the  children  of  the  same  Great  Father  of  all ;  they  shared 
with  the  Indians  their  hospitality,  and  commiserated  with 
their  sufferings  in  distress  ;  they  readily  accommodated  them 
selves  to  their  manners  and  customs,  united  their  races  by  tho 
ties  of  blood,  arid  the  offspring  of  such  unions  are  among 
us  at  the  present  day;  Providence  smiled  upon  this  happy 
and  peaceable  intercourse  between  the  white  man  of  Europe 
and  the  red  man  of  the  American  wilderness. 

Unlike  most  other  European  immigrants,  who  commonly 
prefer  to  settle  in  sparse  settlements,  remote  from  each  other, 
the  French  manifested  in  a  high  degree,  at  the  same  time, 
habits  both  social  and  vagrant.  They  settled  in  compact  vil 
lages,  although  isolated,  in  the  midst  of  a  wilderness  a  thou 
sand  miles  remote  from  the  dense  settlements  of  Canada.  On 
the  margin  of  a  prairie,  or  on  the  bank  of  some  gentle  stream, 
their  villages  sprang  up  in  long  narrow  streets,  with  each 
family  homestead  so  contiguous  that  the  merry  and  sociable 
villagers  could  carry  on  their  voluble  conversation,  each  from 
his  own  do-or  or  balcony.  Their  mode  of  life  approached  the* 
patriarchal;  each  village  had  its  "common  field,"  consisting 
of  a  large  contiguous  enclosure,  reserved  for  the  common 


150  HISTORY  OF  WISCONSIN. 

use,  and  enclosed  by  one  common  fence  for  the  benefit  of  all. 
In  this  field,  which  sometimes  contained  several  hundred 
acres,  each  villager  and  head  of  a  family  had  assigned  to  him 
a  certain  portion  of  ground,  for  the  use  of  himself  and  family, 
as  a  field  and  garden.  The  extent  of  the  field  was  propor 
tionate  to  the  number  of  persons  or  families  in  the  village. 
The  subdivisions  were  in  due  proportion  to  the  number  of 
members  in  each  family.  Each  individual,  or  family,  laboured 
and  reaped  the  product  of  his  own  allotment  for  his  own  use. 
If  the  enclosure  became  ruinous  or  was  neglected  contiguous 
to  the  plat  of  any  family,  or  individual,  so  as  to  endanger 
the  general  interest,  that  individual,  or  family,  forfeited  their 
claim  to  the  use  of  the  common  field ;  and  their  interest  was 
assigned  to  another  person  who  would  be  less  negligent.  Each 
individual,  or  head  of  a  family,  so  long  as  he  conformed  to  the 
regulations  and  requisitions  of  the  village,  retained  his  interest 
in  the  common  field  in  fee  simple,  transferable  by  sale,  gift, 
©r  otherwise ;  liable,  however,  to  the  general  regulations 
which  might  be  adopted  by  the  village.  The  season  for 
ploughing,  planting,  reaping,  and  other  agricultural  ope 
rations  in  the  "common  field,"  was  regulated  by  special 
enactments,  or  by  a  public  ordinance,  and  to  take  place  simul 
taneously  in  each  village.  Even  the  form  and  manner  of  door 
yards,  gardens,  and  stable-yards,  and  other  arrangements  for 
mutual  benefit,  and  the  convenience  of  all,  were  regulated  by 
special  enactments  of  the  little  village  senate.  These  were 
often  in  such  shape  and  connection  as  to  form  a  partial  pro 
tection,  like  a  picketed  camp,  against  any  hostile  irruption  of 
Indians,  provided  such  event  might  ever  occur. 

Near  the  village,  and  a.round  the  common  field,  was  an  ex 
tensive  open  scope  of  lands  reserved  for  "  commons,"  or  a 
common  pasture-ground.  This  consisted  of  several  hundreds, 
and  often  of  thousands,  of  acres  uninclosed,  and  free  for  the 
use  of  all  as  a  common  pasture,  as  well  as  for  the  supply  of 
fuel  and  timber.  Yet  no  one  could  take  possession  of  any 
portion  of  it,  or  appropriate  it  to  his  own  individual  use,  with 
out  the  general  consent  of  the  villagers.  To  the  indigent, 


UNDER  BRITISH   DOMINION.  151 

liowever,  who  came  to  settle  among  them,  and  to  newly-married 
pairs,  appropriations  were  often  made  from  portions  of  the 
*<  commons"  contiguous  to  the  common  field,  and  situated  so 
that  it  might  subsequently  be  taken  into  it,  by  extending  the 
enclosure,  provided  the  individuals  proved  themselves  accept 
able  members  of  their  community. 

In  making  grants  of  land  for  the  use  of  a  village  or  com 
munity,  the  commandant  always  took  special  care  to  cause  a 
reservation  to  be  specially  designated  for  a  «  common  field," 
and  a  «  commons."  These  were  deemed  indispensable  requi 
sites  for  every  large  French  village.  The  same  custom  was 
observed  by  the  Spanish  authorities  after  the  dominion  of 
Spain  was  extended  over  Louisiana. 

Their  houses  were  simple,  plain,  and  uniform ;  each  home 
stead  was  surrounded  by  its  own  separate  enclosure  of  a  rude 
picket-fence,  adjoining  or  contiguous  to  others  on  the  right 
and  left.  The  houses  were  generally  one  story  high,  sur 
rounded  by  sheds  or  galleries ;  the  walls  were  constructed  of 
a  rude  framework,  having  upright  corner  posts  and  studs, 
connected  horizontally  by  means  of  numerous  cross-ties,  not 
unlike  the  rounds  in  a  ladder.  These  served  to  hold  the  «  cat 
and  clay"  with  which  the  interstices  were  filled,  and  with 
which  the  walls  were  made,  and  rudely  plastered  with  the 
hand.  «  Cat  and  clay"  is  formed  by  mud,  or  clay,  made  into 
soft  mortar,  which  is  then  intimately  blended  with  cut  straw, 
or  Spanish  moss,  cut  fine,  instead  of  hair.  The  chimney  was 
made  of  similar  material,  and  was  formed  by  four  long  corner 
posts,  converging  toward  the  top  to  about  one-half,  or  less, 
of  the  space  below.1 

Nothing  was  better  calculated  to  improve  the  simple  and 
benevolent  feelings  of  unsophisticated  human  nature,  to  main 
tain  the  blessing  of  peace  and  harmony,  and  the  prevalence 
of  brotherly  love,  than  the  forms  of  life  and  the  domestic 
usages  which  prevailed  in  these  early  French  villages.  Under 
this  benign  influence,  peace  and  confidence  smiled  upon  them; 

2  Flint's  Geography,  vol.  i.     Monette,  vol.  i. 


152  HISTORY  OF  WISCONSIN. 

joy  and  mirth  beamed  from  every  countenance ;  contentment 
'  sat  on  every  brow.  The  natural  affluence  which  pervaded 
the  whole  village  was  common  to  all.  The  prolific  soil, 
solicited  by  gentle  labour,  as  a  mere  matter  of  recreation, 
yielded  abundance  of  all  the  necessaries  of  life,  except  those 
which  were  derived  from  the  still  more  prolific  waters  and  the 
chase.  With  all  these  advantages,  and  all  these  easy  enjoy 
ments,  in  a  climate  of  great  benignity,  remote  from  the  strife 
arid  conflicting  interests  of  a  dense  population,  what  should 
prevent  them  from  esteeming  the  "Illinois"  a  "terrestiol 
paradise,"  as  La  Salic  had  termed  it  in  1682  ?J 

In  the  early  French  settlements,  the  "  commons"  abounded 
with  herds  of  domestic  animals,  with  cattle,  horses,  sheep, 
swine,  and  others  tamed  from  the  forest,  which  wandered  at 
large,  and  was  used  as  a  general  store-house  from  which  all  were 
freely  supplied;  while  care  was  a  stranger  in  the  village,  and 
was  banished  frtom  hearts  as  light  as  those  of  the  animals  that 
quietly  roamed  the  fields.  Amusements,  festivals,  and  holy- 
days,  were  frequent,  and  in  the  festive  dance  the  young  and 
the  gay  were  active  participants,  while  the  serene  and  smil 
ing  countenance  of  the  aged  patriarch,  and  his  companion  in 
years,  and  even  the  "reverend  father,"  lent  a  sanction  and  a 
blessing  upon  the  innocent  amusement  and  healthy  recrea 
tion.  The  amusements  past,  all  could  cheerfully  unite  in 
offering  up  to  God  the  simple  gratitude  of  the  heart  for  his 
unbounded  mercies. 

In  religion,  all  were  Catholics,  and  revered  the  Pope  as  tho 
great  head  of  the  church,  who  held  the  keys  of  heaven  and  of 
purgatory,  and  dispensed  his  favours  or  his  frowns  through  his 
priests,  who  were  their  friends  and  counsellors,  and  whom 
they  esteemed  as  their  "reverend  fathers."  They  knew  no 
difference  of  sects,  no  creed  except  the  "Apostles'  Creed,"  and 
ardently  attached  to  their  spiritual  guides,  and  observing 
Strictly  all  the  outward  rites  and  ceremonies  of  the  Romish 
Church,  religion  became  one  of  their  great  rules  of  social  life, 

1  Flint's  Geography,  vol.  i.    Monettc,  vol.  i. 


UNDER   BRITISFI   DOMINION.  153 

and  their  lives  corresponded  with  their  professions.  Such 
may  not  be  considered  as  an  overcharged  picture  of  the  con 
dition  of  the  inhabitants  of  the  Mississippi  Valley  under  tho 
French  dominion.1 

After  the  Canadian  provinces  had  been  torn  from  the 
crown  of  France  by  the  arms  of  England,  and  the  English 
power  had  been  extended  over  the  Illinois  country,  which  was 
in  1765,  a  change  came  over  the  happy  and  peaceful  abodes 
of  the  French  in  New  France  and  Louisiana.  The  inhabit 
ants  were  repugnant  to  submission  to  England,  their  ancient 
national  enemy,  and  many  preferred  to  leave  their  homes  and 
their  fields,  and  to  seek  new  dwelling-places  under  the  do 
minion  of  France,  winch  still  prevailed  west  of  the  Missis 
sippi.  Consequently  the  French  settlements  began  to  decline, 
on  the  Illinois,  and,  in  order  to  prevent  an  almost  entire 
abandonment  of  them,  the  English  government  gave  assurances 
to  the  inhabitants  that  their  religion,  their  rights,  and  their 
property,  should  be  protected,  and  remain  inviolate  under 
the  dominion  of  Great  Britain.  Although  many  consented 
to  remain,  yet  many  retired  to  Western  Louisiana,  and  French 
settlements  began  to  extend  on  the  west  side  of  the  Missis 
sippi,  within  the  limits  of  the  present  State  of  Missouri.  But 
even  here,  their  hopes  of  tranquillity  were  doomed  to  disap 
pointment:  it  was  soon  rumoured  that  all  Western  and 
Southern  Louisiana  had  been  ceded  to  Spain,  and  such  being 
the  fact,  they  found  themselves  already  subjects  of  the  Spanish 
monarch.  Still,  although  the  Spanish  authority  was  not  ex 
tended  over  them  for  a  period  of  five  years,  yet  these  were  years 
of  suspense,  chagrin,  and  trouble,  all  of  which  was  finally  dis 
pelled  by  the  mild  and  paternal  government  of  Spain,  which 
differed  not,  in  these  respects,  from  that  of  France ;  their 
habits  of  tranquil  life  were  not  again  disturbed  until  the 
Anglo-Americans  began  to  approach  the  Mississippi ;  and 
finally  an  almost  total  change  was  effected  in  all  their  relations 

1  See   Stoddard's   Louisiana ;    Flint's  Geography ;    Martin's   Louisiana  j 
Moactte,  aud  authorities. 


154  HISTORY  OF   WISCONSIN. 

of  social  and  political  life,  by  the  cession  of  Louisiana  to  the 
United  States,  in  1803. 

In  the  month  of  October,  1765,  Captain  Stirling,  of  the 
British  army,  arrived,  by  way  of  the  Ohio,  and  established 
his  head-quarters  at  Fort  Chartres,  as  commandant  of  the 
Illinois  country,  under  the  orders  of  General  Gage,  com- 
mander-in-chief  of  his  majesty's  forces  in  America.  At  thia 
time  the  French  population  of  the  whole  Illinois  country, 
from  the  Mississippi  eastward  to  the  Wabash,  was  probably 
not  less  than  five  thousand  persons,  including  about  five  hun 
dred  negro  slaves.  The  loss,  by  subsequent  emigration,  was 
not  replaced  by  English  settlers,  and  ten  years  afterward  the 
population  of  Kaskaskia  was  estimated  at  but  little  over  one 
hundred  families ;  that  of  Cahokia,  fifty  families ;  and  of 
Prairie  Dupont,  and  Prairie  du  Rocher,  each  fourteen  families. 
These  were  the  great  points  of  settlement  in  the  country. 
Fort  Chartres,  subsequently  called  "  Fort  Gage,"  was  a  stock 
aded  fort,  on  the  east  bank  of  the  Kaskaskia  River,  opposite 
the  town  of  Kaskaskia;  Cahokia  was  a  small  post  on  the  bank 
of  the  Mississippi,  about  three  miles  below  St.  Louis. 

Pittman,  who  visited  the  Illinois  country  in  1770,  in  speak 
ing  of  the  soil  and  productions  of  this  region,  says,  that  a  man 
in  Illinois  could  have  been  fed  and  lodged  the  year  round  for 
two  months'  work;  the  one  in  seed-time,  the  other  in  harvest. 
At  that  time  one  man  furnished  the  king's  stores  from  his 
crop,  86,000  Ibs.  of  flour  ;J  in  1769,  the  Illinois  produced  one 
hundred  and  ten  hogsheads  of  wine  from  the  native  grape.2 

Under  the  new  masters  of  this  highly  productive  and  salu 
brious  portion  of  the  North-west,  for  a  series  of  years,  em 
bracing  the  period  from  1763  to  the  capture  of  the  British 
posts,  by  the  forces  under  Colonel  George  Rogers  Clark,  in  1779, 
we  find  little  account  of  improvements  in  settlements  in  the 
south  part  of  Illinois,  and  still  less,  if  any  at  all,  in  that  por 
tion  lying  immediately  west  of  Lake  Michigan.  The  expedi- 

1  Pittman,  State  of  Eng.  Sett,  on  Miss.  p.  43,  65. 

2  Hutchin'3  Top.  Descr.  p.  43. 


UNDER   BRITISH   DOMINION.  155 

tion  of  Colonel  Clark  was  in  itself  not  only  successful,  and 
opened  the  way  for  the  emigration  of  the  Anglo-American  popu 
lation  to  the  Mississippi  Valley,  but,  at  the  close  of  the  Ameri 
can  Revolution,  Great  Britain,  by  the  terms  of  the  treaty  of 
1783,  renounced  all  claim  to  the  whole  territory  east  of  the 
Mississippi.  Thus  terminated  forever  the  dominion  of  the 
English  in  the  Illinois  and  Wabash  countries,  with  the  loss  of 
three  military  posts  which  commanded  the  whole  Northwestern 
territory  of  the  United  States. 

At  the  commencement  of  the  Revolution,  from  the  first  act 
of  hostilities  by  the  royal  troops  against  the  inhabitants  of 
the  colonies,  the  savages  of  the  Northwest  had  been  associated 
as  allies  of  Great  Britain,  and  employed  by  the  British  com 
manders  to  lay  waste  the  whole  frontier  country ;  and  a  bloody 
partisan  war  ensued,  and  continued  for  two  years,  until 
Patrick  Henry,  then  governor  of  Virginia,  adopted  the  plan 
of  Colonel  George  Rogers  Clark  for  suppressing  the  terrible  in 
cursions  of  the  Northwestern  Indians. 

The  British  posts  on  the  Wabash,  the  Illinois,  and  the 
Upper  Mississippi  were  considered  properly  within  the  char 
tered  limits  of  Virginia  ;  these  posts,  as  subordinate  to  Detroit, 
•were  found  to  be  the  actual  source  of  all  the  Indian  incursions 
which  had  been  sent  against  the  exposed  frontier  of  Virginia, 
west  of  the  mountains,  from  Fort  Pitt,  southward  to  the 
Kentucky  River.  From  these  points  the  British  officers  and 
emissaries  operated  upon  the  Indian  tribes,  which  were  dis 
persed  over  the  whole  Northwestern  territory,  from  the  Ohio 
and  the  great  lakes  westward  to  the  Upper  Mississippi :  from 
these  points,  also,  were  planned  and  supplied  the  numerous 
hostile  incursions  which  had  spread  desolation  and  blood 
along  the  wide  frontier  east  of  the  Ohio  ;  and  these  were  the 
points  at  which  the  savages  were  supplied  with  arms,  ammu 
nition,  and  clothing,  to  enable  them  to  carry  on  their  murder 
ous  warfare  into  the  remote  settlements.  To  these  points,  too, 
they  carried  their  captives,  torn  from  their  families,  and  the 
scalps  of  their  murdered  victims,  as  trophies  of  their  prowess 
and  evidence  of  their  industry.  To  dry  up  this  fountain  of 


156  HISTORY  OP  WISCONSIN. 

evil,  to  cut  up  this  death-bearing  tree  by  the  roots,  a  secret 
expedition  was  set  on  foot,  for  the  reduction  of  the  British 
posts  on  the  Upper  Mississippi  and  upon  the  Wabash  Rivers ; 
this  expedition  was  prompted  and  guided  by  the  genius 
and  enterprise  of  Colonel  George  Rogers  Clark,  under  tho 
authority  of  the  governor  and  executive  council  of  Virginia. 
What  the  commonwealth  lacked  in  men  and  means,  was 
fully  supplied  by  the  courage,  skill,  and  daring  intrepidity 
of  her  frontier  defenders. 

The  entire  expedition  was  to  consist  of  three  hundred  and 
fifty  men,  at  most,  or  seven  companies  of  fifty  men  each,  or 
such  portion  of  them  as  could  be  enlisted  for  the  enterprise. 
Even  this  number  could  not  be  spared  from  the  exposed  fron 
tier  settlements,  and  Colonel  Clark  was  at  length  compelled  to 
undertake  his  hazardous  enterprise  with  less  than  half  tho 
number  authorized  by  the  instructions  of  Governor  Henry,  and 
with  no  other  means  than  twelve  hundred  dollars  in  depreciated 
paper  currency  of  the  time,  and  an  order  on  the  commanding 
officer  at  Fort  Pitt,  for  transports  and  supplies  of  powder  and 
ammunition:  each  private  was  also  promised  a  bounty  of 
three  hundred  acres  of  land. 

By  virtue  of  three  royal  charters,  Virginia  claimed  all  tho 
territory  within  which  the  contemplated  expedition  was  now 
to  be  directed  were  situate.  The  first  charter,  dated  10th  of 
April,  1606.  extended  along  the  sea-coast,  from  the  thirty- 
fourth  to  the  forty-first  degree  of  north  latitude,  but  only 
fifty  miles  inland ;  the  second  charter,  of  May  23d,  1609, 
granted  all  those  lands  situate,  lying,  and  being  in  that  part 
of  America  called  Virginia,  from  the  point  of  land  called  Capo 
or  Point  Comfort,  all  along  the  sea-coast  to  the  southward 
two  hundred  miles ;  and  all  that  space  and  circuit  of  land 
lying  from  the  sea-coast  of  the  precinct  aforesaid,  up  into  tho 
land  throughout,  from  sea  to  sea,  west  and  northwest;  and 
also  all  the  islands  lying  within  one  hundred  miles  along  tho 
coast  of  both  seas  of  the  precinct  aforesaid.  The  third  char 
ter,  dated  March  12th,  1612,  annexed  to  Virginia  all  the 
islands  within  three  hundred  leagues  of  the  coast.  Previous 


UNDER  BRITISH   DOMINION.  157 

to  the  granting  of  these  charters  to  the  Company  of  Merchant 
Adventurers,  Virginia  was  understood  to  extend  from  thirty- 
four  to  forty-five  degrees  of  north  latitude,  bounded  by  the 
ocean  to  the  east,  Florida  to  the  south,  and  Canada,  or  Ne^r 
France,  to  the  r.orth  ;  but  toward  the  west  unlimited  and  un 
known.1  The  three  royal  charters  were  vacated  by  writ  of  quo 
warranto  in  the  year  1626,  at  which  time  a  commission  was  is 
sued  for  the  government  of  Virginia,  by  officers  immediately  un 
der  the  appointment  of  the  king,  without,  however,  making  any 
alteration  in  boundaries.2  The  colony  was  afterward  curtailed 
on  the  north  by  the  grant  to  Lord  Baltimore,  and  to  William 
Penn ;  and  on  the  south  by  that  to  the  proprietors  of  Caro 
lina.  By  the  treaty  of  1768,  the  river  Mississippi  was  estab 
lished  as^the  boundary  between  British  America  and  Louisiana.3 
Surmounting  great  difficulties,  and  by  extraordinary  ex 
ertions,  Colonel  Clark  assembled  his  force,  consisting  of  six 
incomplete  companies,  at  the  Falls  of  the  Ohio,  about  tho 
middle  of  June,  1778.  Selecting  from  his  whole  force,  four 
companies  of  picked  men,  each  armed  with  a  rifle,  tomahawk, 
and  scalping-knife,  he  confided  their  respective  commands  to 
his  captains — Montgomery,  Bowman,  Helm,  and  Harrod  ; 
the  party  commenced  their  voyage  down  the  river,  about  tho 
24th  of  June,  in  keel-boats;  their  destination  was  Kaskaskia. 
:  Reaching  Fort  Massac,  Clark  determined  on  crossing  tho 
country  by  land,  and  having  sunk  his  boats,  to  conceal  them, 
lie  commenced  his  toilsome  and  perilous  march  through  a 
trackless  wilderness,  wading  through  swamps,  and  traversing 
unsheltered  prairies,  under  the  heats  of  a  summer  sun,  for  a 
distance  of  one  hundred  and  twenty  miles.  At  length,  on  the 
evening  of  the  4th  of  July,  tho  party  reached  a  point  within 
two  miles  of  Kaskaskia.  Here  they  remained  concealed  until 
boats  were  collected  to  take  them  across  tho  river,  to  surprise 
the  town.  In  the  dead  of  the  night,  two  divisions  crossed  the 
river,  and  were  instantly  in  possession  of  the  town,  the  inha- 


1  Keith's  Virginia,  pnrt  i.  f>3.  2  Idem,  part  i.  141. 

c  Docum.  Hist.     Boundary  Question. 


158  HISTORY   OF  WISCONSIN. 

bitants  of  which  were  aroused  from  their  sleep  by  the  wild 
Indian-like  yells  and  cries  of  their  conquerors,  who,  constantly, 
during  the  night,  warned  the  affrighted  inmates  of  the  houses, 
not  to  appear  in  the  streets,  on  pain  of  immediate  death.  Colo 
nel  Clark,  in  the  mean  time,  was  equally  successful  in  his  capture 
of  the  fort,  on  the  opposite  side  of  the  river :  he  found  the 
gates  open,  and  not  a  sentinel  was  posted,  nor  an  alarm  given, 
until  the  commander,  Rocheblave,  found  himself  and  all  his 
force,  prisoners  to  an  unforeseen  enemy.  Lieutenant  Roche 
blave  was  captured  while  in  bed  with  his  wife,  and  she,  with  the 
tact  of  an  intelligent  woman,  managed  to  secure  her  husband's 
public  papers,  which  she  concealed  among  her  dresses  in  her 
trunks :  these  were  not  searched  by  the  polite  invaders,  and 
Colonel  Clark  never  obtained  possession  of  them. 

The  fort  was  unconditionally  surrendered  by  Rotheblave,. 
and  the  inhabitants  of  the  town  having  been  disarmed,  and 
forbidden  to  communicate  with  each  other  from  their  houses,, 
their  worst  fears  were  naturally  excited  as  to  the  treatment 
they  might  expect  to  receive  from  the  dreaded  Long  Knives. 
British  falsehood  had  transformed,  in  the  eyes  of  the  simple 
French,  the  American  into  the  most  obdurate  and  blood 
thirsty  savage,  and  the  terror  of  the  captured  people  was 
wrought  up  to  the  extreme.  In  the  morning,  the  appearance 
of  the  victors,  their  sunburnt  visages  and  tattered  garments, 
so  much  at  variance  with  the  pomp  and  splendour  of  military 
command,  was  by  no  means  calculated  to  allay  the  fears  of 
the  inhabitants.  They  looked  for  captivity  and  separation 
from  their  families,  as  one  of  the  least  of  their  dreaded  evils, 
and  a  deputation  -waited  on  Colonel  Clark,  deprecating  such 
events,  and  supplicating  mercy  for  their  wives  and  children. 
They  solicited  permission  to  meet,  perhaps  for  the  last  time,  in 
the  church,  there  to  take  leave  of  each  other  ;  this  was  granted 
to  them  by  Clark,  but  he  would  not  listen  to  any  thing  further. 
After  their  melancholy  meeting  had  taken  place,  the  leading  men 
renewed  their  application  for  food  and  clothing  for  their  women 
and  children,  and  begged  that  they  might  not  be  separated  from 
them. 


UNDER  BRITISH   DOMINION.  159 

Clark  now  saw  that  the  proper  hour  for  leniency  had 
arrived,  and  in  a  speech  which  he  made  to  them,  he  disabused 
them  of  the  false  opinions  they  had  entertained  as  to  the 
character  of  the  Americans  ;  he  told  them  that  one  cause  of 
their  war  against  the  English  in  this  region,  was  to  protect 
their  own  wives  and  children  from  the  tomahawk  and  knife  of 
the  merciless  savage,  who  was  incited  to  every  such  bloody  deed 
by  the  English  commanders ;  he  also  informed  them  of  the 
alliance  between  the  King  of  France  and  the  Americans,  (the 
news  of  which  Clark  had  very  lately  heard,)  and  that  they 
were  now  united  in  war  against  Great  Britain,  the  hereditary 
enemy  of  France  ;  he  finally  told  them  that  they  should  be  at 
liberty  to  take  either  side  they  chose,  in  the  contest,  and  that 
they  and  their  wives  and  children  should  be  at  liberty,  their 
property  protected,  and  any  insult  which  should  be  offered  to 
their  religion  should  be  immediately  punished. 

The  joy  produced  by  these  announcements  may  well  be 
conceived,  and  one  natural  result  quickly  followed :  nearly 
all  the  population  declared  for  the  American  cause,  and  ac 
knowledged  the  jurisdiction  of  the  United  States  and  of  Vir 
ginia  over  the  country ;  and  when  a  detachment  was  ordered 
next  day  to  march  against  Cahokia,  the  Kaskaskians  offered 
to  go  with  it  and  secure  the  submission  of  their  neighbours. 
In  this  also  success  was  obtained,  and  on  the  6th  of  July, 
the  two  chief  posts  in  the  Illinois  had  passed,  and  without 
bloodshed,  from  the  possession  of  England  into  that  of  Vir 
ginia. 

With  the  exception  of  Detroit,  the  most  important  western 
post  was  Fort  St.  Vincent,  or,  as  named  by  the  English,  Fort 
Sackville,  situate  on  the  Wabash  River,  now  known  as  Vin- 
cennes.  This  post  remained  as  yet  unconquered,  and  Colonel 
Clark  could  scarcely  hope  to  obtain  possession  of  it  with  his 
small  force,  as  he  must  of  necessity  be  for  some  time  en 
gaged  near  the  Mississippi,  in  organizing  a  government  for  the 
territory  he  had  taken,  and  in  treating  with  the  Indians  of 
the  Northwest.  Under  these  circumstances,  Colonel  Clark 
accepted  of  the  offer  of  M.  Gibault,  the  priest  of  Kaskaskia,  who 


160  HISTORY  OF   WISCONSIN. 


• 


assured  him  that  by  persuasion  alone,  he  could  lead  the-  in- 
habitnnts  of  Vincennes  to  throw  off  their  forced  connection 
with  England;  and  this  he  undertook  to  do.  Accordingly, 
on  the  14th  of  July,  in  company  with  another  inhabitant  of 
Kaskaskia,  M.  Gibault  departed  upon  his  mission  of  peace; 
and  upon  the  first  of  August  he  returned  with  the  intelligence 
that  the  oath  of  allegiance  to  the  Old  Dominion  had  been 
taken  by  the  inhabitants  of  the  post  on  the  Wabash. 

Colonel  Clark  having  established  courts,  and  placed  garrisons 
at  Kaskaskia,  Cahokia,  and  Vincennes,  directed  a  fort  to  be 
erected  at  the  Falls  of  Ohio,  which  proved  the  germ  of  Louis 
ville  ;  in  October  of  this  year,  the  Legislature  of  Virginia 
established  the  county  of  Illinois,  and  John  Todd  was  ap 
pointed  lieutenant-colonel  and  civil  commandant.  The  juris 
diction  of  Virginia  was  thus  formally  extended  over  all  tho 
settlements  on  the  Wabash  arid  the  Upper  Mississippi ;  and 
the  Indian  tribes  in  the  vicinity  of  all  the  Northwestern  Bri 
tish  posts,  panic-struck  at  the  daring  courage  and  success  of 
the  Virginia  troops,  hastened  to  enter  into  treaties  of  amity 
with  their  renowned  leader,  whose  policy,  dictated  by  long 
acquaintance  with  the  Indian  character,  was  to  impress  them 
with  a  sense  of  the  power  of  the  Americans,  of  their  unalter 
able  determination  to  punish  their  enemies,  and  to  fight  them 
until  they  should  be  compelled  to  sue  for  peace. 

In  the  mean  while  the  success  of  Colonel  Clark  justly  alarmed 
the  British  commander  at  Detroit,  Lieutenant-governor  Henry 
Hamilton,  who  immediately  collected  all  the  force  in  his 
power,  composed  of  regular  troops,  militia,  and  Indians,  and 
determined  to  proceed  to  the  Illinois  country,  recapture  tho 
conquered  posts,  devastate  the  infant  settlements  of  that  re 
gion,  and  above  all,  to  make  prisoner  of  Colonel  Clark,  and 
bring  him  to  Detroit  as  the  chief  trophy  of  the  expedition. 

The  reputation  of  Colonel  Hamilton  for  honourable  warfare 
did  not  stand  high  in  the  estimation  of  the  Americans  ;  he  had 
pursued,  together  with  other  coadjutors  at  Detroit  and  else 
where,  the  abominable  policy  of  urging  the  Indians  to  the  ex 
tremes  of  barbarity,  by  offering  rewards  for  scalps,  but  none 


UNDER   BRITISH   DOMINION. 

for  prisoners — a  course  which  naturally  resulted  in  wholesale 
and  cold-blooded  murder,  as  the  Indians  would  often  drive 
their  captives  within  sight  of  the  British  forts,  and  then  butcher 
them.  Such  an  ultra-barbarous  policy  procured  for  the  Bri 
tish  lieutenant-governor  the  soubriquet  of  "  the  hair-buyer,'* 
by  which  name  he  was  very  generally  known. 

Hamilton's  first  efforts  were  directed  against  Vincennes, 
where  he  arrived  in  December,  17T8,  and  summoned  the  ear- 

O 

rison  to  surrender.  Captain  Helm,  who  had  been  left  in  com 
mand  of  the  fort  by  Colonel  Clark,  but  with  no  garrison  to  pro 
tect  it,  was  nevertheless  not  disposed  to  yield  without  obtain 
ing  honourable  terms.  Therefore,  loading  his  single  cannon? 
he  bade  the  enemy  to  halt,  and  desired  to  know  what  terms 
would  be  granted  the  garrison  in  case  of  a  surrender.  Go 
vernor  Hamilton  being,  of  course,  unwilling  to  lose  time,  and 
risk  the  lives  of  his  men,  offered  all  the  usual  honours  of  war 
to  the  garrison  ;  and  his  surprise  may  well  be  imagined,  when 
he  saw  march  out,  Captain  Helm,  of  Fauquicr  county,  Vir 
ginia,  and  a  private  named  Henry  ;  these  were  the  only  regu 
lars  ;  there  were  also  three  others,  volunteer  citizens  of  Yin- 
cennes,  who  were  dismissed,  while  the  captain  and  his  fellow- 
soldier  were  detained  prisoners  of  war.  The  people  of  Vin- 
cennes  were  obliged  to  renounce  their  adhesion  to  the  govern 
ment  of  the  United  States  and  Virginia,  and  to  resume  a 
forced  allegiance  once  more  to  Great  Britain. 

Governor  Hamilton  took  up  his  winter  quarters  in  the  town 
and  fort,  and  proceeded  no  further  in  his  design  of  recovering 
Kaskaskia  and  Cahokia,  and  of  capturing  Colonel  Clark  ;  who, 
on  his  part,  having  learned  late  in  the  month  of  January,  of 
the  recapture  of  Vincennes,  devised  his  plans  to  avoid  being 
sent  a  prisoner  to  Detroit,  by  capturing  Colonel  Hamilton,  and 
sending  him  a  prisoner  to  the  capital  of  Virginia. 

Accordingly,  Colonel  Clark  assembled  his  forces  at  Kaskas 
kia  on  the  5th  of  February,  1779;  they  consisted  of  one  hundred 
and  thirty  men,1  and  including  pack-horsemen,  &c.,  one  hun- 


1  Jeffersoa's  Writings,  i.  451.     Clark's  Letter. 
VOL.  I.-11 


162  HISTORY   OF    WISCONSIN. 

dred  and  seventy;1  with  this  little  force  he  set  forward  to  be 
siege  the  British  governor,  who  had  under  him  seventy-nine 
men  as  a  garrison.2  On  the  day  previous,  a  batteau  had  been 
repaired,  provisioned,  manned,  and  armed  with  forty-six  men, 
and  was  on  her  way  down  the  Mississippi,  in  order  to  ascend 
the  Ohio  and  Wabash,  and  co-operate  with  the  land  forces 
destined  against  Vincennes. 

On  the  7th  of  February,  in  rainy  weather,  the  paths  covered 
with  mud  and  water,  Clark's  little  band  of  brave  souls  com 
menced  their  toilsome  way  toward  Vincennes,  one  hundred 
and  fifty  miles  distant ;  and  after  the  most  indefatigable  and 
almost  incredible  exertions,  reached  within  a  few  miles  of  that 
post  on  the  21st  of  the  same  month.  Drenched  by  daily 
rains,  while  traversing  woods  and  prairies  slippery  with  mud; 
crossing  rivers  by  means  of  trees  felled  for  their  purpose  ; 
fording  other  deep  streams,  and  often  obliged  to  wade  for 
miles  over  the  low  grounds  which  were  now  overflowed  from  the 
swollen  rivers — often  thus  struggling,  up  to  their  necks  in  wa 
ter,  with  an  uncertain  and  unseen  foothold  beneath  them  ; 
sometimes  without  sufficient  provision,  and  at  all  times  de 
prived  of  the  means  of  rest,  while  almost  sinking  under  accu 
mulated  fatigue,  Colonel  Clark  and  his  heroic  followers  no  sooner 
found  themselves  in  sight  of  the  goal  of  their  enterprize,  than, 
eager  for  an  anticipated  victory,  they  marched  to  the  town, 
took  possession  of  it  without  difficulty,  and  their  leader  imme 
diately  summoned  the  fort  to  surrender.  The  commander, 
Colonel  Hamilton,  found  his  post  surrounded  by  Clark's  forces, 
who  met  with  a  cordial  reception  from  many  of  the  inhabitants 
of  the  town,  and  under  cover  of  the  houses  and  fences,  an 
almost  incessant  fire  was  kept  up  against  the  garrison,  day  and 
night ;  there  was  not  much  return  made  from  the  guns  of  the 
fort,  as  its  defenders  could  scarcely  open  the  port-holes  with 
out  becoming  a  mark  for  the  American  backwoodsmen.  Seven 
British  soldiers  were  thus  severely  wounded,  if  not  killed, 
while  during  the  whole  of  the  siege,  only  one  of  the  Ameri- 

1  Bowman's  MS.  2  Clark's  Letter  to  Jefferson. 


UNDER  BRITISH   DOMINION.  163 

cans  was  wounded.  At  length,  on  the  24th  of  February,  Colonel 
Hamilton  capitulated,  and  surrendered  the  garrison  as  prison 
ers  of  war.  He  was  sent  with  some  others  prisoners  to  Vir 
ginia,  where  the  council  ordered  their  confinement  in  jail, 
fettered,  and  alone,  as  a  punishment  for  the  barbarous  policy 
he  had  pursued  in  relation  to  the  scalps  of  prisoners.  But  as 
this  rigid  confinement,  however  just,  was  not  in  accordance 
with  the  terms  of  Hamilton's  surrender,  General  Phillips  pro 
tested  in  regard  to  it,  and  Jefferson  having  referred  the  mat 
ter  to  the  commander-in-chief,  Washington  gave  his  opinion 
decidedly  against  it,  in  consequence  of  which  the  Council  of 
Virginia  released  the  Detroit  "hair-buyer"  from  his  irons.1 

The  capture  of  Vincennes  placed  Detroit  within  the  reach 
of  the  enterprising  Virginian,  but  as  his  force  was  too  small 
to  conquer  and  also  to  garrison  the  British  post?,  he  concluded 
to  wait  for  the  reinforcements  which  had  been  promised  him 
by  Governor  Patrick  Henry.  The  people  of  Detroit  had 
great  rejoicings  when  they  heard  of  Hamilton's  capture ; 
Clark,  in  his  letter  to  Jefferson,  says  that  with  five  hundred 
men  when  he  first  reached  Illinois,  or  with  three  hundred 
after  the  conquest  of  St.  Vincents,  he  could  have  taken  De 
troit  ;  the  garrison  of  the  fort  was  but  eighty  strong.2 

A  few  days  after  the  surrender  of  Vincennes,  Colonel  Clark 
learned  that  a  convoy  of  merchandise,  including  goods  for  the 
Indians  and  supplies  for  the  army,  was  advancing  by  way  of 
the  Wabash,  from  Detroit,  under  an  escort  of  forty  men. 
Clark,  with  his  accustomed  secrecy  and  despatch,  immediately 
took  measures  to  capture  the  rich  cargo  and  its  escort,  before 
the  news  of  the  fall  of  Vincennes  could  reach  the  advancing 
party.  Captain  Helm,  the  late  British  prisoner,  was  sent,  at 
the  head  of  sixty  men,  to  intercept  the  convoy;  in  a  few  days  he 
returned,  completely  successful,  having  captured  the  entire  es 
cort  as  prisoners  of  war,  and  their  cargo,  amounting  to  ten  thon- 
Band  pounds  in  value,  without  the  loss  of  a  man  in  this  enterprise. 

1  Sparks's  Washington,  vi.  315.     See  also  Note  H. 

2  Jefferson's  Writings,  vol.  i.  451. 


164  HISTORY  OF  WISCONSIN. 

The  results  of  Clark's  expedition  against  the  Illinois  posts 
must  ever  be  viewed  as  of  the  greatest  importance — difficult, 
indeed,  of  estimation.  It  has  been  ascertained  that  Hamilton 
had  made  arrangements  to  enlist  the  southern  and  western 
Indians  for  the  next  spring  campaign,  and  it  is  believed  that 
Brandt  and  his  Iroquois  were  to  act  in  concert  with  him.1 
Had  Clark  failed  to  conquer  Hamilton,  there  is  every  reason 
to  believe  that  the  whole  West,  from,  the  Mississippi  to  the 
Alleghanies,  would  have  been  swept  and  desolated  ;  the  union 
of  all  the  tribes  from  Georgia  to  Maine,  against  the  colonies, 
in  their  struggle  with  Britain,  might  have  been  effected,  and 
the  whole  current  of  our  national  history  changed  !  No  doubt, 
this  great  measure  of  policy  had  been  in  contemplation  by 
Great  Britain  from  the  outset  of  the  American  contest;  and 
the  vast  and  controlling  influence  which  a  military  occupation 
of  the  whole  country  from  Detroit  to  the  mouth  of  the  Ohio, 
and  bounded  westward  by  the  Mississippi,  would  inevitably 
have  over  the  Indian  tribes,  gave  an  immense  and  fearful 
power  to  England.  During  the  struggles  of  the  American 
Revolution,  the  most  of  those  tribes  either  joined  the  forces 
of  the  English,  remained  neutral  under  their  control,  or  were 
engaged  in  predatory  and  destructive  warfare  on  every 
American  settlement  within  their  reach.  It  is  true  that  dis 
tress  and  suffering  were  common  to  all  the  colonies  during 
the  trying  period  of  the  Revolution,  and  they  were  borne  with 
fortitude  by  all ;  by  none  with  more  than  by  the  settlers  of 
the  West.  Had  it  not  been  for  their  bold  resistance  arid  par 
tisan  warfare  on  the  frontiers  of  population,  who  will  now 
•undertake  to  say  what  might  have  been  the  result  of  a  pour 
ing  out  by  England  of  her  troops  from  Canada,  in  the  whole 
rear  of  the  settlements  of  the  Atlantic  States,  assisted  as  she 
could  command  herself  to  be,  by  all  the  Indian  nations  of  the 
West?  One  matter  is  very  certain,  that  a  great  check  was 
given  to  the  power  of  the  British  over  the  Indians,  and  a  vast 
extent  of  frontier  country  wrested  from  the  possession  of  the 

*  Butler's  Kentucky,  p.  80.      Stone's  Life  of  Brandt,  vol.  i.  400. 


UNDEK   BRITISH   DOMINION.  165 

enemy  by  the  patriotism  of  Virginia  in  fitting  out  expeditions, 
and  by  the  prudence,  judgment,  perseverance,  and  bravery  of 
one  of  Virginia's  sons,  Colonel  George  Rogers  Clark.  In  the 
result  of  his  enterprise  and  success,  Virginia  obtained  posses 
sion  of  her  claimed  territory,  the  great  Northwest,  at  this  day 
comprising  five  of  our  confederated  States — Ohio,  Indiana, 
Illinois,  Michigan,  and  Wisconsin. 

Independent  of  the  predatory  excursions  of  the  Indians 
from  this  region  of  country,  on  the  frontiers  of  the  old  States, 
the  Northwest  remained  in  a  comparative  degree  of  quietude 
during  the  progress  of  the  Revolutionary  war :  it  exhibits  few 
events  to  engage  the  attention  of  the  annalist,  in  regard  to 
organized  government,  production,  or  commerce ;  and  a  total 
barrenness  in  relation  to  settlement  and  growth  of  popula 
tion.  We  look  in  vain  beyond  the  military  stations,  and  the 
old  French  settlements  in  Southern  Illinois,  and  the  vicinity 
of  Detroit,  for  the  traces  of  the  agriculturist ;  we  find  alone 
the  path  of  the  hunter,  the  accustomed  route  of  the  Indian 
trader,  and  the  scattered  Indian  villages  with  their  little  cul 
tivated  patches  of  corn,  squashes,  and  melons.  But  the  time 
was  approaching  with  slow  and  sure  steps,  although  yet  far 
distant,  when  this  magnificent  country  was  to  receive  a  dense 
population  of  industrious  citizens,  and  to  yield  certain  returns 
for  labour,  unsurpassed  in  richness  by  those  of  any  part  of 
the  world. 

Several  of  the  Eastern  States,  under  their  colonial  charters, 
laid  claim  to  portions  of  the  land  comprised  in  the  territory 
northwest  of  the  Ohio  River ;  as  those  charters  had  been 
granted  by  the  crown,  these  lands  were  denominated  crown 
lands.  After  the  peace  of  1783,  it  was  urged  in  argument 
in  our  political  bodies,  that  as  the  Revolutionary  war  had 
been  carried  on  for  the  defence  and  general  benefit  of  the 
whole  country,  the  several  States  claiming  these  lands,  and 
who  could  not  realize  any  special  advantage  from  these  pos 
sessions,  ought  to  relinquish  them  as  a  common  fund  for  the 
Benefit  of  the  United  States,  rather  than  to  suffer  the  whole 


1QQ  HISTORY  OF  WISCONSIN. 

nation  to  sink  under  a  burden  of  debt.  A  concession  of  these 
lands  was  in  fact  made  an  important  object  in  establishing  the 
confederation. 

Soon  after  the  treaty  with  France  had  rendered  it  highly 
probable  that  the  war  of  the  Revolution  would  eventuate  in 
the  foundation  of  an  independent  government  on  this  side  of 
the  Atlantic,  the  anxiety  of  the  Continental  Congress  in 
creased,  to  adjust  amicably  all  conflicting  titles  to  the  wild 
lands  of  the  West.  For  that  purpose,  on  the  6th  of  Septem 
ber,  1780,  a  resolution  was  passed,  earnestly  recommending 
to  those  States  who  had  claims  to. the  Western  country,  to  pass 
such  laws,  and  give  their  delegates  in  Congress  such  powers,  as 
would  effectually  remove  the  only  obstacle  to  a  final  ratifica 
tion  of  the  articles  of  confederation.  On  the  10th  of  Octo 
ber,  Congress  declared  that  the  territory  ceded  should  be  dis 
posed  of  for  the  common  benefit  of  the  Union,  and  be  formed 
into  republican  States,  possessing  the  same  rights  and  privi 
leges  with  the  other  States ;  and  to  be  of  proper  extent  of 
territory,  not  less  than  one  hundred,  nor  more  than  one  hun 
dred  and  fifty  miles  square ;  and  that  the  expense  incurred 
by  any  State  since  the  commencement  of  the  war,  in  subdu 
ing  any  British  post,  or  in  maintaining  and  acquiring  the  title, 
should  be  reimbursed. 

On  the  2d  of  January,  1781,  Virginia  responded  to  this 
request,  and  passed  a  law  offering  to  cede  all  right  and  title 
to  the  lands  northwest  of  the  Ohio,  with  certain  conditions. 
One  was,  "that  the  territory  so  ceded  shall  be  laid  out  and 
formed  into  States  containing  a  suitable  extent  of  territory, 
not  less  than  one  hundred,  nor  more  than  one  hundred  and 
fifty  miles  square."  The  other  was,  "that  all  the  remaining 
territory  of  Virginia  between  the  Atlantic  Ocean,  and  the 
southeast  side  of  the  Ohio,  and  the  Maryland,  Pennsylvania, 
and  North  Carolina  boundaries,  shall  be  guarantied  to  the 
commonwealth  of  Virginia  by  the  United  States."  To  the 
first  proposition  Congress  acceded,  as  it  was  in  conformity 
with  her  own  resolution  previously  passed ;  the  other  propo- 


UNDER  BRITISH   DOMINION.  167 

sition  was  rejected,  because  "Congress  wished  to  avoid  all 
discussion  of  the  territorial  rights  of  individual  States."1 

In  March,  1781,  New  York  ceded  to  the  United  States  all 
her  claims  to  the  lands  northwest  of  the  river  Ohio.  Massa 
chusetts  made  her  deed  of  cession  in  April,  1785,  of  all  her 
right  to  lands  west  of  the  line  fixed  by  New  York.  In  Sep 
tember,  1786,  Connecticut  ceded  all  the  lands  included  within 
her  chartered  limits  lying  one  hundred  and  twenty  miles  west 
of  the  western  boundary  of  Pennsylvania ;  and  in  August, 
1787,  South  Carolina  granted  to  the  United  States  her  right 
to  land  lying  west  of  the  chain  of  mountains  which  divide 
the  eastern  and  western  waters. 

Notwithstanding  the  refusal  of  Congress  to  give  the  gua 
ranty  demanded  by  Virginia,  this  State,  on  the  1st  of  March, 
1784,  ceded  all  right  and  title  which  the  commonwealth  had 
to  the  territory  lying  northwest  of  the  river  Ohio,  with  con 
ditions;  one  of  which  was,  that  it  should  be  formed  into 
states  as  proposed  in  the  resolution  of  Congress  of  1780.  At 
the  time  this  resolution  was  adopted,  it  is  evident  that  Con 
gress  was  very  deficient;  in  knowledge  of  the  geography  of  the 
country  for  which  they  were  legislating.  After  tho  close  of 
the  war,  enterprising  individuals  traversed  the  whole  country 
which  had  been  ceded  to  the  United  States,  and  companies 
were  formed  to  explore  and  settle  the  fertile  and  beautiful 
lands  beyond  the  Ohio.  From  such  sources,  Congress  soon 
collected  sufficient  information  to  show  that  the  promise  given 
to  the  States  by  the  resolution  of  October,  1780,  imposed 
inconvenient  restrictions.  Accordingly,  on  the  7th  of  July, 
1786,  they  again  took  into  consideration  the  resolution  of 
1780,  and  the  conditions  in  the  deeds  of  cession,  which 
related  to  the  boundaries  of  the  States  that  were  to  be  formed 
northwest  of  the  Ohio.  The  proceedings  of  Congress  on  this 
occasion  shed  much  light  on  the  question  of  boundaries,  which 
of  late  years  has  much  agitated  the  public  mind,  in  the  States 
formed  in  the  northwestern  territory,  on  the  true  meaning 

'Thomas's  Report,  North.  Boundary,  March  2d,  183G. 


HISTORY   OF   WISCONSIN. 

and  construction  of  the  fifth  article  of  the  ordinance  of 
1787.1 

It  was  first  proposed  to  apply  to  Virginia  and  Massachu 
setts,  to  revise  and  change  their  acts  of  cession,  so  as  to  em 
power  Congress  to  make  such  division  of  the  ceded  territory 
into  states  as  the  situation  of  the  country  and  future  circum 
stances  might  require ;  with  this  limitation  and  condition,  that 
all  the  territory  of  the  United  States  lying  northwest  of  the 
river  Ohio,  shall  be  formed  into  a  number  of  states  not  less 
than  two,  nor  more  than  five,  to  be  admitted  into  the  confe 
deracy,  on  the  principles  and  in  the  forms  heretofore  esta 
blished  and  provided. 

In  lieu  of  this  proposition,  Mr.  Grayson,  seconded  by  Mr. 
Lee,  (both  of  Virginia,)  offered  the  following : — «  That  it  be 
recommended  to  the  States  of  Virginia  arid  Massachusetts,  so 
to  alter  their  acts  of  cession  as  that  the  states  in  the  Western 
Territory  may  be  bounded  as  follows:  There  shall  be  three 
states  between  the  Ohio  and  a  line  running  due  east  from  the 
Mississippi  to  the  eastern  boundary  of  the  United  States,  so 
as  to  touch  the  most  southern  part  of  Lake  Michigan. 

"  The  State  lying  on  the  Mississippi  shall  be  separated 
from  the  middle  State  by  a  line  running  north  from  the  west 
ern  side  of  the  mouth  of  the  Wabash  River,  till  it  intersects  the 
said  east  line ;  the  middle  State  shall  be  separated  from  the 
others  by  the  aforesaid  line,  and  a.  line  running  also  due  north 
from  the  western  side  of  the  mouth  of  the  Big  Miami,  till  the 
intersection  thereof  with  the  said  east  line ;  and  the  other 
State  shall  be  divided  from  the  middle  State  by  the  said  line, 
the  said  cast  line,  Lake  Erie,  the  bounds  of  Pennsylvania,  the 
other  original  States,  and  Ohio ;  there  shall  be  a  State  be 
tween  the  said  east  line,  Lake  Michigan,  Lake  Huron,  and  the 
straits  of  Michillimackinac  ;  and  another  between  the  said 
east  line,  the  Lake  Michigan  and  Superior,  and  the  boundary 
line  of  the  United  States,  and  the  river  Mississippi." 

For  this  proposition  all  the  delegates  of  Virginia  voted  ; 

1  Docum.  Hist.    Boundary  Question. 


UNDER   BRITISH    DOMINION.  169 

Massachusetts  voted  against  it.  The  question  was  lost ;  five 
States  voting  in  the  affirmative,  five  in  the  negative,  and  two 
States,  New  York  and  South  Carolina,  were  each  divided  in 
their  votes.  Another  proposition  (offered  by  Mr.  Pinckney) 
•was  adopted.  This  was,  to  strike  out  the  words  "  with  this 
limitation,"  &c.,  so  as  to  leave  the  number  of  States  discre 
tionary  with  Congress.  Finally  tho  resolution,  as  modified, 
was  adopted  by  Congress  unanimously,  twelve  States  voting 
in  the  affirmative.  This  resolution  is  as  follows: — 

«  Resolved,  that  it  be,  and  hereby  is,  recommended  to  the 
Legislature  of  Virginia,  to  take  into  consideration  their  act 
of  cession,  and  revise  the  same,  so  far  as  to  empower  the 
United  States,  in  Congress  assembled,  to  make  such  a  division 
of  the  territory  of  the  United  States  lying  northerly  and 
westerly  of  the  river  Ohio,  into  distinct  republican  States,  not 
more  than  five  nor  less  than  three,  as  the  situation  of  that 
country,  and  future  circumstances  may  require ;  which  States 
shall  hereafter  become  members  of  the  Federal  Union,  and 
have  the  same  rights  of  sovereignty,  freedom,  and  independ 
ence  as  the  original  States,  in  conformity  with  the  resolution 
of  Congress  of  tbe  10th  of  October,  1780." 

On  the  13th  of  July,  1787,  Congress  passed  the  celebrated 
«  commended  and  commendable"  Ordinance  for  the  government 
of  the  territory  of  the  United  States  northwest  of  the  river  Ohio ; 
the  fifth  article  of  this  ordinance  is  in  strict  accordance  with  the 
above  resolution  as  to  the  number  of  States  to  be  formed  in 
the  territory,  and  the  boundaries  of  three  of  them,  are  therein 
specially  defined ;  subject  ho/vever  to  be  altered  so  far  that 
if  Congress  shall  hereafter  find  it  expedient,  they  shall  have 
authority  to  form  one  or  two  States  in  that  part  of  said  terri 
tory  which  lies  north  of  an  east  and  west  line  drawn  through 
the  southerly  bend  of  Lake  Michigan. 

On  the  30th  of  December,  1788,  Virginia  gave  her  assent 
to  the  resolution  of  Congress  in  relation  to  altering  the  terms 
of  her  act  of  cession,  and  ratified  and  confirmed  the  fifth 
article  of  the  ordinance  of  13th  July.  1787  ;  this  being  the 
only  part  of  the  compact  between  the  original  States  and  the 


*        ft- 

170  HISTORY   OF   WISCONSIN. 

people  and  States  of  the  territory  northwest  of  the  Ohio 
River,  to  which  the  assent  of  Virginia  was  required  to  give  it 
validity.1 

Viewing  the  ordinance  of  1787  as  a  solemn  compact, 
entered  into,  after  years  of  deliberation  on  its  provisions, 
between  the  original  States  and  the  people  and  States  of  the 
great  Northwestern  Territory,  one  of  its  provisions  prominently 
presents  itself,  considered  then  and  now  as  of  vital  import 
ance  to  the  welfare  of  the  whole  country;  important  to  the 
civil  and  political  institutions  of  the  several  original  States, 
as  well  as  of  those  thereafter  to  be  formed  in  the  territory  of 
the  Northwest ;  important  as  the  forerunner  of  one  of  the 
great  compromises  embodied  in  the  Constitution  of  the  United 
States,  which  had  not  yet  been  adopted,  and  which  at  that 
period  was  still  under  solemn  deliberation ;  important  as  a 
sacred  and  inviolable  agreement,  made  by  the  unanimous  voice 
of  eight  States,  being  all  that  were  present,  and  an  equal 
number  of  slave  and  free  States  being  represented ;  of  im 
mense  importance,  when  considered  as  a  political  basis,  on 
which  has  hitherto  rested,  in  a  great  measure,  the  peace  and 
harmony  of  the  Union,  the  perpetuity  of  which  might  be 
greatly  endangered  by  any  rash  attempt  even  to  disturb  it, 
much  less  to  abrogate  it. 

This  important  provision  is  the  following : 

"Article  6th.  There  shall  be  neither  slavery  nor  involun 
tary  servitude  in  the  said  territory,  otherwise  than  in  the 
punishment  of  crimes,  whereof  the  party  shall  have  been  duly 
convicted.  Provided  ahvays,  That  any  person  escaping  into 
the  same,  from  whom  labour  or  service  is  lawfully  claimed  in 
any  one  of  the  original  States,  such  fugitive  may  be  lawfully 
reclaimed  and  conveyed  to  the  person  claiming  his  or  her 
labour  as  aforesaid." 


1  Old  Journals,  vol.  iv.  373.  Land  Laws,  p.  100,  338.  Report  on  North 
ern  Boundary,  March  2d,  1836.  Ordinance  of  1787.  Old  Journal/ 
iv.  passim.  Sparks's  Washington,  ix.  48.  Perkins,  292.  See,  also, 
Note  I. 


UNDER   BRITISH   DOMINION.  171 

This  was  the  first  great  compromise  made  between  the  slave- 
holding  and  non-slaveholding  States;  it  was  made  previous  to 
the  adoption  of  the  Federal  Constitution;  paramount  in  point 
of  time,  it  is  at  least  equal,  in  its  force  and  effect,  to  any  of 
the  compromises  contained  in  that  instrument.  Legal  enact 
ments  by  Congress  have  at  subsequent  periods  followed  both 
the  spirit  and  the  letter  of  the  compromise  of  1787  ;  one  the 
Missouri  compromise  of  1820,  another  the  act  of  1850,  gene 
rally  called  the  Fugitive  Slave  Law.  In  our  own  day,  1854, 
the  introduction  of  the  so-called  "  Nebraska  Bill"  in  the 
Houses  of  Congress,  has  once  again  not  only  agitated  the 
whole  Union  on  the  subject  of  these  compromises,  but  strikes 
at  the  very  root  of  their  validity  and  inviolable  character. 
The  fate  of  this  "Bill,"  and  of  its  effects  throughout  the 
length  and  breadth  of  our  land,  is  yet  in  the  womb  of  time. 

During  the  past  half  century,  five  attempts  were  made,  at 
five  different  times,  by  the  people  of  the  Northwestern  Terri 
tory,  to  impair  the  slavery  compromise  of  1787  ;  five  times 
did  Congress,  without  any  distinction  between  Northern  and 
Southern  members,  refuse  to  impair  it.  The  territory  of  In 
diana  had  been  slave  territory  under  the  French  government, 
and  continued  so  under  the  American,  until  1787.  It 
extended  to  the  Mississippi,  and  contained  many  slaves.  Vin- 
cennes,  Kahokia,  Prairie  de  Rocher,  Kaskaskia,  were  all 
slaveholding  towns.  The  inhabitants  were  attached  to  that 
property,  and  wished  to  retain  it,  at  least  temporarily,  and 
also  to  invite  a  slaveholding  immigration,  until  an  increase  of 
population  should  form  an  adequate  supply  of  free  labour ; 
and  they  petitioned  Congress  accordingly.  The  petition  came 
from  a  convention  of  the  people,  presided  over  by  Governor 
Harrison,  and  only  asked  for  a  suspension  of  the  anti-slavery 
part  of  the  ordinance  for  ten  years,  and  limited  in  its  appli 
cation  to  their  own  territory.  The  petition  received  its 
answer  in  a  report  made  by  a  select  committee,  of  which  Mr. 
Randolph  was  chairman :  "  The  committee  deem  it  highly 
dangerous  and  inexpedient  to  impair  a  provision  wisely  cal 
culated  to  promote  the  happiness  and  prosperity  of  the  North- 


172  HISTORY   OF  WISCONSIN. 

western  country,  and  to  give  strength  and  security  to  that 
extensive  frontier.  In  the  salutary  operation  of  this  sagar 
cious  and  benevolent  restraint,  it  is  believed  that  the  inhabit 
ants  of  Indiana  will,  at  no  very  distant  day,  find  ample 
remuneration  for  a  temporary  privation  of  labour  and  immi 
gration." 

This  report  of  the  Select  Committee,  became  the  answer  of 
the  House  of  Congress  to  the  Indiana  petition  of  1803,  fifty 
years  ago.  The  answer  is  a  peremptory  refusal  to  yield  to  a 
request  even  for  a  ten  years'  local  suspension  of  this  anti- 
slavery  clause  ;  "  highly  dangerous  and  inexpedient  to  impair 
that  provision  ;"  to  impair  !  it  is  a  refusal  to  weaken  or  lessen 
in  the  smallest  degree,  a  "benevolent  and  sagacious  act/' 
which  the  committee  recommend  to  remain  "unimpaired," 
because  it  is  calculated  to  increase  the  happiness  and  prosperity 
of  the  Northwest,  and  to  give  strength  and  security  to  its 
frontier. 

But  this  was  not  an  end  to  the  petitions ;  the  people  of 
Indiana  were  not  satisfied  with  one  repulse.  They  returned  to 
the  charge,  and  four  times  more,  in  the  course  of  as  many 
years,  renewed  their  application  for  the  ten  years'  suspension 
of  the  ordinance.  It  was  rejected  each  time  :  five  times  in  as 
many  years  rejected  by  Congress,  and  the  rejection  the  more 
emphatic,  in  some  instances,  because  it  was  the  reversal  by 
the  House  of  a  favourable  report  from  a  committee.1 

Wise  statesmen,  profound  politicians,  stern  patriots,  have 
ever  regarded  the  anti-slavery  clause  in  the  ordinance  of  1787 
as  an  act  equal  in  its  force  and  effect  with  the  Constitution  of 
the  United  States.  In  March,  1784,  the  Virginia  delegation 
in  Congress,  headed  by  Jefferson  and  Monroe,  conveyed  the 
Northwestern  Territory  to  the  thirteen  United  States.  In 
April  ensuing,  Mr.  Jefferson  brought  in  an  ordinance  for  the 
government  of  the  territory  so  conveyed,  with  the  anti-slavery 
clause  as  a  part  of  it,  to  take  effect  in  the  year  1800,  but 
without  a  clause  for  the  recovery  of  fugitive  slaves.  For  want 

1  Benton's  Speech  on  the  «« Nebraska  Bill,"  April  25th,  1854. 


UNDER   BRITISH   DOMINION.  173 

of  this  provision,  the  anti-slavery  clause  was  opposed  by  the 
slave-holding  States,  and  rejected.  In  July,  1787,  the  ordi 
nance  was  remodelled,  the  anti-slave  clause,  with  the  fugitive 
glave  recovery  clause,  as  they  now  stand,  were  inserted  in  it, 
and  in  that  shape  the  ordinance  had  the  unanimous  vote  of 
every  State  present — eight  in  the  whole — four  slave,  and  four 
free  States.1 


1  Note  K. 


CHAPTER  IV. 

THE   NORTHWESTERN   TERRITORY. 

British  retain  the  Western  posts — Effect  on  the  Indians — Land  speculations 
in  the  West — Washington's  opinion — Cession  of  title  by  the  States — Retro 
spective  view — Steuben  sent  to  take  possession  of  Western  posts — He  is 
refused  the  possession — Causes  assigned — Boundary  line  not  to  be  crossed 
— British  strengthen  the  posts — Great  council  of  Indian  tribes — Treaties 
of  Fort  Harraar — Not  adhered  to — Brant  and  the  Northern  confederacy — 
St.  Clair,  governor  of  the  Northwestern  Territory — Indians  deny  the  va 
lidity  of  his  treaties — State  of  the  case — Ordinance  of  1787 — Unwise  pro 
ceeding  of  government — British  policy  and  agency — Encouragement  given 
to  Brant — Influence  of  McKee,  Elliott,  and  Girty — Mission  of  Gamelin  to 
the  Western  tribes,  and  his  report — Conduct  of  British  agents — United 
States  adopt  war  measures  against  the  Indians — St.  Clair's  levies,  and 
dissensions — Harmar's  Expedition,  and  two  defeats— Discord  in  his  army 
— Indian  villages  destroyed — Indian  account  of  the  battles — Action  of  the 
government  in  relation  to  the  Indian  War — Peace  messengers  and  warlike 
preparations — British  agents  and  Indians  dissatisfied — American  policy 
explained — Scott's  Expedition — Wilkinson's  Expedition — St.  Clair  orgo-n- 
izes  his  army  at  Fort  Washington — Commences  his  march — Builds  Forts 
Hamilton  and  Jefferson — Reaches  the  waters  of  the  Wabash — Army  en 
camps — Attacked  by  the  Indians  and  entirely  defeated — Great  loss  of  the 
Americans — Causes  of  defeat — St.  Clair  exculpated — New  army  authorized 
by  Congress  to  be  raised— General  Wayne  appointed  to  its  command — 
Peace  still  offered  to  the  Indians — The  chiefs  of  the  nations  are  invited  to 
the  seat  of  government — Commissioners  meet  the  Indians  in  council — 
Indians  insist  on  the  Ohio  boundary — Attempts  at  peace  fruitless — The 
causes — British  erect  a  new  fort  on  the  Maumee — Spain  offers  assistance 
to  Indians — Wayne  assembles  his  forces  at  Fort  Washington — Final  report 
of  the  peace  commissioners — Wayne  moves  his  army — Establishes  Fort 
Greenville — Goes  into  winter  quarters — Buries  the  bones  on  the  field  of 
St.  Clair's  defeat — Fort  Recovery  built — Attack  by  the  Indians  on  an 
«scort — Wayne  learns  the  movements  of  the  Indians  and  the  British  agents 
174 


THE  NORTHWESTERN   TERRITORY.  175 

— Indians  attack  Fort  Recovery,  and  are  repulsed — Wayne  marches  from 
Greenville — Builds  Fort  Defiance — Sends  a  peace  messenger  to  the  Indians 
— The  reply  of  the  Indians — Wayne  marches  on — Leaves  his  heavy  baggage 
— Moves  down  the  Maumee — Battle,  and  complete  victory — Wrayne  destroys 
Indian  and  British  property — Effect  of  the  victory  on  the  Indians  — The 
army  returns — Fort  Wayne  built — Fort  Loramie  built — Army  in  winter 
quarters  at  Greenville — Indian  spirit  subdued — The  tribes  disposed  to 
peace  measures — Opposition  made  by  the  British  agents — Great  council 
held — Propositions  made  by  the  English  governor  of  Detroit — Brant  coin 
cides — Indians  do  not  consent — They  send  peace  messengers  to  the  Ameri 
cans — The  preliminaries  of  peace  entered  into — Great  council  held  at 
Greenville,  and  treaty  made — Terms  of  the  treaty — Other  events  during 
the  Indian  War — Genet,  French  minister;  his  schemes  to  involve  the 
United  States  in  war — His  attempts  in  the  Wrest ;  contemplated  invasion 
of  Louisiana  and  Florida — Separation  of  the  Western  States,  and  revolt  in 
the  Spanish  provinces,  projected — Genet  issues  commissions — Excitement 
among  the  Western  people — Action  of  the  United  States  government — 
Genet  recalled  by  France,  who  disowns  his  acts — Free  navigation  of  the 
Mississippi  insisted  on  by  the  United  States  ;  denied  by  Spain — Governor 
Miro  relaxes  the  stringent  measures  in  relation  to  duties — He  grants  spe 
cial  privileges  of  trade  on  the  Mississippi — Attempts  of  Spain  to  dismember 
the  Union — Operations  in  relation  to  the  navigation  of  the  Mississippi — 
Unsuccessful  attempts  of  government  to  treat  witli  Spain — Baron  Caron- 
delet's  policy  and  attempts  to  separate  the  West — Treaty  of  Madrid — Free 
navigation  of  Mississippi  secured — New  Orleans  a  free  port  of  deposit — 
Yazoo  speculation — Projected  British  invasion  of  the  Spanish  provinces, 
by  way  of  the  lakes  and  the  Illinois — Spanish  posts  withheld  from  the 
Americans — The  causes — Spanish  perfidy  and  duplicity — Powers  proceeds 
to  Detroit,  the  head-quarters  of  Wilkinson — Conduct  of  Wilkinson — New 
Orleans  ceases  to  be  a  port  of  deposit,  unless  duties  are  paid — The 
act  of  the  Intendant  reversed  by  the  King  of  Spain — Jefferson  sends 
ministers  to  France  and  Spain — Spain  cedes  Louisiana  to  France — Diplo 
macy  of  the  American  ministers  relative  to  the  purchase  of  Louisiana — 
All  Louisiana  purchased  from  France — Spain  objects,  but  renounces  oppo 
sition — Effectual  agency  of  Mr.  Livingston — Spanish  and  French  claims 
to  land — British  evacuate  the  Western  posts — Northwestern  Territory — 
Ohio  set  off — Indiana  created — Extent  of  the  United  States'  possessions 
in  the  Northwest. 

THE  treaty  of  peace  of  September,  1783,  was  not  accom 
panied  by  the  immediate  surrender  of  the  British  posts  to 
the  American  authorities.  Much  recrimination  occurred 
between  the  two  governments,  each  charging  the  other  with 


176  HISTORY   OF   WISCONSIN. 

the  non-performance  and  violation  of  certain  articles  of  the 
treaty;  and  more  than  ten  years  of  diplomatic  controversy 
intervened,  creating  and  cherishing  bitter  feelings  on  both 
sides  of  the  Atlantic,  before  a  great  part  of  the  disputes  were 
in  a  measure  settled,  by  Jay's  treaty  of  1794.  In  the  mean 
time,  the  British  retained  possession  of  the  posts  on  the 
American  side  of  the  great  lakes,  and,  as  those  posts  gave 
their  possessors  a  decided  influence  over  the  warlike  tribes  of 
Indians  in  their  neighbourhood,  this  was  a  subject  to  which 
the  United  States  were  peculiarly  sensible. 

The  year  1784  had  nearly  passed  away  before  the  determi 
nation  of  the  British  cabinet  not  to  evacuate  the  Western 
posts,  was  known  to  the  government  of  the  United  States.  To 
the  detention  of  these  posts  on  the  lakes,  was  ascribed  the 
hostile  temper  manifested  by  the  Indians;  for  it  unfortunately 
was  soon  apparent  that  the  cessation  of  hostilities  with  Eng 
land  was  not  necessarily  the  cessation  of  warfare  with  the 
native  tribes  ;  and,  while  all  hoped  that  the  horrors  of  border 
war  in  the  West  were  ended,  it  was  not  difficult  to  see  the 
probability  of  a  continued  and  violent  struggle.  Thus,  to  the 
indignity  of  permitting  a  foreign  power  to  maintain  garrisons 
within  the  limits  of  the  nation,  were  superadded  the  murders 
perpetrated  by  the  savages,  and  the  consequent  difficulty  of 
settling  the  fertile  and  vacant  lands  of  the  West.1 

Virginia,  at  an  early  period,  (in  October,  1779,)  had  by 
law  discouraged  all  settlements,  on  the  part  of  her  citizens, 
northwest  of  the  Ohio  ;2  but  the  prospect  of  peace  added  fuel 
to  a  spirit  of  land-speculation  that  soon  became  stronger  than 
law ;  and  in  what  manner  to  throw  open  the  immense  region 
which  lay  west  of  the  mountains,  without  driving  the  natives 
to  desperation,  was  a  problem  for  statesmen  to  solve.  Wash 
ington,  in  a  letter  to  James  Duane,  in  Congress,  in  September, 
1783,3  writes  upon  the  difficulties  which  lay  before  that  body 
in  relation  to  the  public  lands.  He  pointed  out  the  necessity 

1  Marshall's  Washington,  vol.  ii.  2  Rev.  Stat.  of  Vir.  vol.  ii.  878. 

8  Sparks's  Washington,  vol.  viii.  477. 


THE   NORTHWESTERN   TERRITORY.  177 

which  existed  for  making  the  settlements  compact ;  and  pro 
posed  that  it  should  be  made  even  felony  to  settle  or  survey 
lands  west  of  a  line  to  be  designated  by  Congress,  which  line, 
he  added,  might  extend  from  the  mouth  of  the  Great  Miami 
to  Mad  River,  thence  to  Fort  Miami,  on  the  Maumee,  and 
thence  northward,  so  as  to  include  Detroit,  or,  perhaps,  from 
the  fort,  down  the  river  to  Lake  Erie.  He  proposed  other 
stringent  measures,  in  order  to  preserve  the  tranquillity  of 
the  Northwest ;  but,  before  Congress  could  take  any  efficient 
steps  to  that  effect,  it  was  necessary  that  those  measures  of 
cession  which  commenced  in  1780—81  should  be  completed. 
Six  days  after  the  date  of  this  letter,  on  the  13th  of  Septem 
ber,  Congress  stated  the  terms  upon  which  they  would  receive 
the  proposals  of  the  Old  Dominion  for  the  cession  to  the  United 
States  of  all  their  right  in  the  territory  northwest  of  the  river 
Ohio.1 

We  have  seen  the  result  of  the  action  of  Congress,  and  of 
the  several  States  claiming  the  lands  of  the  Northwestern 
region,  terminating  in  the  adoption  of  the  famous  ordinance 
of  July  18th,  1787  :  our  view  must  now  be  turned  to  the  con 
dition  of  this  portion  of  the  Northwestern  Territory,  from  the 
latter  period  to  the  time  of  the  formation  of  a  distinct  terri 
torial  government  in  Wisconsin.  A  retrospective  glance  at 
existing  affairs  is,  nevertheless,  necessary. 

In  July,  1784,  General  Washington  had  sent  Baron  Steuben 
to  Canada  for  the  purpose  of  obtaining  possession  of  the 
Western  posts,  under  the  terms  of  the  treaty  of  1783,  with 
orders,  if  he  found  it  advisable,  to  embody  the  French  of 
Michigan  into  a  militia,  and  place  the  fort  at  Detroit  in  their 
hands.  The  baron  was  received  by  General  Sir  Frederick 
Haldimand  with  politeness,  but,  at  the  same  time,  was  told 
by  him  that  he  had  received  no  orders  to  deliver  up  the  posts 
along  the  lakes ;  and  the  necessary  passports  were  refused.2 
The  retention  of  the  posts  by  the  British  was  alleged  to  be 
for  the  purpose  of  preserving  the  peace  of  the  frontiers,  as  the 


1  Old  Journals,  iv.  189.  2  Sparks's  Washington,  vol.  viii.  463. 

VOL.  I.— 12 


178  HISTORY   OF   WISCONSIN. 

Indian  tribes  scattered  along  the  Northwestern  Territory  were 
alarmed  at  the  prospect  before  them  of  the  advance  of  the 
•white  population,  and  were  daily  showing  undoubted  signs  of 
dissatisfaction,  if  not  of  hostility.  The  true  ground  of  existing 
differences  between  the  Indians  and  the  United  States  was  a 
question  of  boundary,  and  the  encroachments  of  white  settle 
ments  already  made,  together  with  the  dread  of  future  action 
in  this  respect.  The  Indians  maintained  that  the  Ohio  River 
•was  the  line,  and  was  not  to  be  crossed  by  the  Americans; 
and,  as  the  Indians  were  not  included  in  the  treaty,  it  became 
a  nice  legal  question  how  far  the  United  States  had  a  right  to 
advance  upon  the  territory  then  occupied  by  the  Indians.  Tho 
posts  in  Michigan  thus  withheld  from  the  possession  of  the 
United  States  were  Detroit  and  Miehillimackinac ;  and  Great 
Britain,  in  order  to  guard  against  the  incursions  of  the  Ame 
ricans,  took  immediate  measures  to  garrison  the  fort  of  De 
troit,  under  instructions  from  Lord  Dorchester.1 

In  December,  1786,  a  grand  confederate  council  of  the 
Indians  northwest  of  the  Ohio,  was  held  near  the  Huron  vil 
lage,  at  the  mouth  of  the  Detroit  River,  which  was  attended 
by  the  Six  Nations,  the  Hurons,  Ottawas,  Miamies,  Shawa- 
nese,  Chippewas,  Cherokees,  Delawares,  Pottawatamies,  and 
the  confederates  of  the  Wabash.  The  council  was  pacific,  pro 
viding  that  the  United  States  did  not  encroach  on  their  lands* 
It  was  finally  proposed  to  call  a  grand  council  of  the  Indians, 
in  which  the  whole  ground  of  complaint  between  the  savages- 
and  the  United  States  should  be  discussed,  and  some  final 
determination  made. 

This  council  was  held,  and,  although  no  records  of  its  pro 
ceedings  have  been  discovered,  yet  it  is  believed  that  they 
•were  forwarded  to  Lord  Dorchester.  It  is  probable  that  there 
was  a  division  in  their  deliberations,  because  two  separate 
treaties  were  held  at  Fort  Harmar,  in  January,  1789,  which 
were  attended  by  only  a  part  of  the  Indians.  These  treaties 
irere  held  by  General  St.  Glair :  in  the  first  place  with  the 

1  Luiman's  Michigan,  p.  150.    See  Note  A. 


THE  NORTHWESTERN  TERRITORY.  179 

Five  Nations,  with  the  exception  of  the  Mohawks ;  and  the 
second  was  made  with  the  warriors  and  sachems  of  the  Wyan- 
dot,  Delaware,  Ottawa,  Chippewa,  Pottawatamie,  and  Sac 
tribes.1  But  these  treaties,  if  meant  in  good  faith,  were  not 
respected  by  those  who  made  them  ;  and,  in  a  short  time,  the 
confederacy  of  Northern  Indians,  which  had,  three  years 
before,  been  formed  by  the  noted  Brant,  or  Thayendanegea, 
exhibited  their  long-smothered  feelings  of  hatred  and  hostility 
to  the  Americans  ;  and,  in  their  subsequent  success  in  the- 
defeats  of  Harmar  and  St.  Clair,  acquired  not  only  a  confi 
dence  in  themselves,  but  spread  terror  over  the  frontier  white 
settlements,  and  deep  concern  in  the  councils  of  the  nation. 

Major-general  Arthur  St.  Clair  had  been  appointed  go 
vernor  of  the  Northwestern  Territory,  in  October,  1787. 
Among  his  first  important  acts  was,  making  the  treaties  at 
Fort  Harmar,  in  January,  1789  ;  one  of  these  treaties  the 
confederated  nations  of  the  lakes  especially  refused  to  ac 
knowledge  as  binding ;  their  council,  in  referring  to  it  after 
ward,  in  1793,  using  these  words : — 

"  Brothers :  Your  commissioner,  (General  St.  Clair,)  after 
having  been  informed  by  the  general  council  of  the  preceding 
fall,  that  no  bargain  or  sale  of  any  part  of  these  Indian  lands 
•would  be  considered  as  valid  or  binding,  unless  agreed  to  by 
a  general  council,  nevertheless  persisted  in  collecting  together 
a  few  chiefs  of  two  or  three  nations  only,  and  with  them  held 
a  treaty  for  the  cession  of  an  immense  country,  in  which  they 
•were  no  more  interested  than  as  a  branch  of  the  general  con 
federacy,  and  who  were  in  no  manner  authorized  to  make  any 
grant  or  cession  whatever.  Brothers :  How  then  was  it  pos 
sible  for  you  to  expect  to  enjoy  peace,  and  quietly  hold  these 
lands,  when  your  commissioner  was  informed  long  before  he 
held  the  treaty  of  Fort  Harmar,  that  the  consent  of  a  general 
council  was  absolutely  necessary  to  convey  any  part  of  these 
lands  to  the  United  States?" 

Also,  in  1795,  at  the  Treaty  of  Greenville,  Masas,  a  Chip- 

1  Lanman'a  Michigan,  p.  149, 151, 


180  HISTORY   OF  WISCONSIN. 

pewa  chief,  who  signed  the  treaty  at  Fort  Harmar,  said — • 
« Elder  Brother:  I  was  surprised  when  I  heard  your  voice, 
through  a  good  interpreter,  say  that  we  had  received  presents 
and  compensation  for  those  lands,  which  were  thereby  ceded. 
I  tell  you  now,  that  we,  the  Three  Fires,  never  were  informed 
of  it.  If  our  uncles,  the  Wyandots,  and  grandfathers,  the 
Delawares,  have  received  such  presents,  they  have  kept  them 
to  themselves.  I  always  thought  that  we,  the  Ottawas,  Chip- 
pewas,  and  Pottawatamies,  were  the  true  owners  of  those 
lands,  but  now  I  find  that  new  masters  have  undertaken  to 
dispose  of  them  ;  so  that,  at  this  day,  we  do  not  know  to 
whom  they  of  right  belong.  I  don't  know  how  it  is,  but  ever 
since  that  treaty,  we  have  become  objects  of  pity,  and  our 
fires  have  been  retiring  from  this  country." 

In  reference  to  this  treaty  at  Fort  Harmar,  the  truth  seems 
to  be,  that  the  confederated  nations  as  a  whole  did  not  sanc 
tion  it,  although  the  Wyandots,  and  some  other  tribes,  ac 
knowledged  its  binding  force.  The  relations  of  the  Indians 
and  the  United  States,  in  1789,  appear  to  have  stood  thus : — 
Transfers  of  territory  had  been  made  by  the  Iroquois,  the 
Wyandots,  the  Delawares,  and  the  Shawanese,  which  were 
scarce  open  to  any  objection ;  but  the  Chippewas,  Ottawas, 
Kickapoos,  Weas,  Piankeshaws,  Pottawatamies,  Eel  River 
Indians,  Kaskaskias,  and  above  all,  the  Miamis,  were  not 
bound  by  any  existing  agreement  to  yield  the  lands  north  of 
the  Ohio.  If  their  tale  is  true,  the  confederated  tribes  had 
forbidden  the  treaty  of  Fort  Harmar,  and  had  warned  Go 
vernor  St.  Clair  that  it  would  not  be  binding  on  the  confede 
rates.  They  wished  the  Ohio  to  be  a  perpetual  boundary 
between  the  white  and  red  men  of  the  West,  and  would  not 
sell  a  rod  of  the  region  north  of  it.  So  strong  was  this  feel 
ing  that  their  young  men,  they  said,  could  not  be  restrained 
from  warfare  upon  the  invading  Long  Knives,  and  thence 
resulted  the  unceasing  attacks  upon  the  frontier  stations  and 
the  emigrants.1 

1  Perkins's  Annals.   American  State  Papers,  vol.  v.    Stone's  Brant,  vol.  ii. 


THE   NORTHWESTERN   TERRITORY. 

If  the  treaty  of  Fort  Harmar  had  been  the  sole  ground 
whereon  the  United  States  could  have  claimed  of  the  Indians 
the  Northwest  Territory,  it  may  be  doubted  whether  right 
would  have  justified  the  steps  taken  in  1790,  '91,  and  '94 :  but 
before  that  treaty,  the  Iroquois,  Delawares,  Wyandots,  and 
Shawanese  had  yielded  the  south  of  the  Ohio,  the  ground  on 
which  they  had  long  dwelt.  It  was  not  without  reason  that 
Washington  expressed  a  doubt  as  to  the  justness  of  an  offen 
sive  war  upon  the  tribes  of  the  Wabash  and  Maumee;  he  says 
(speaking  of  these  tribes) — « In  the  exercise  of  the  present 
indiscriminate  hostilities,  it  is  extremely  difficult,  if  not  impos 
sible,  to  say  that  a  war  without  further  measures  would  be 
just  on  the  part  of  the  United  States.1 

By  the  third  article  of  the  Ordinance  of  1787,  it  is  declared 
"that  the  lands  of  the  Indians  shall  never  be  taken  from 
them  without  their  consent."  It  may  perhaps  with  great  truth 
be  said  that  the  Federal  government  in  taking  those  steps  in 
1790  and  1791,  which  resulted  in  such  calamitous  conse 
quences,  acted  unwisely;  and  that  in  the  outset,  it  should 
have  done  what  it  did  in  1793,  after  St.  Glair's  disastrous  de 
feat  ;  that  is,  have  sent  commissioners  of  the  highest  character 
to  the  Lake  tribes,  and  in  the  presence  of  their  friends,  the 
British,  learned  their  causes  of  complaint,  and  offered  fair 
terms  of  compromise.  Such  a  step,  government,  by  its  sub 
sequent  action,  acknowledged  to  be  wise  and  just.2 

The  agency  of  the  British  in  keeping  up  Indian  hostility 
after  the  peace  of  1783,  has  been  thus  summed  up  : — Most  of 
the  tribes  adhered  to  England  during  the  Revolutionary  strug 
gle.  When  the  war  ceased,  however,  England  made  no  pro 
vision  for  them,  and  transferred  the  Northwest  to  the  United 
States  without  any  stipulation  as  to  the  rights  of  the  natives. 
The  United  States,  regarding  the  lands  of  the  hostile  tribes  as 
conquered  and  forfeited,  proceeded  to  give  peace  to  the  savages, 
and  to  grant  them  portions  of  their  own  land.  This  produced 
discontent,  and  led  to  the  formation  of  the  confederacy  headed 

J  American  State  Papers,  vol.  y.,97.  2  Perkins,  328. 


132  HISTORY  OF   WISCONSIN. 

by  Brant.1  To  assist  the  purposes  of  this  union,  it  was  very 
desirable  tbat  the  British  should  still  hold  the  posts  along  the 
Lakes,  and  supply  the  red  men  with  all  needful  things.  The 
forts  they  claimed  a  right  to  hold,  because  the  Americans  dis 
regarded  the  treaty  of  1783;  the  trade  with  the  Indians,  even 
though  the  latter  might  be  at  war  with  the  United  States,  they 
regarded  as  perfectly  fair  and  just.  Having  thus  a  sort  of 
legal  right  to  the  position  they  occupied,  the  British  did,  un 
doubtedly  and  purposely,  aid  and  abet  the  Indians  hostile  to 
the  United  States.2  In  1785,  Brant  went  to  England  to  so 
licit  aid  for  his  confederacy;  he  stated  the  forgetfulness  of 
England  of  her  old  allies,  the  Indians  ;  the  encroachments 
of  the  Americans  ;  the  probable  consequences,  war  ;  and  asked 
support  and  countenance,  such  as  true  and  old  friends  expect. 
He  received  a  non-committal  answer  from  the  British  minis 
ter,  and  returned  home  ;  he  met  the  confederated  natives  in 
November,  1786,  and  told  them  he  could  give  them  no  distinct 
assurances  of  aid  from  England  ;  but  the  Indian  Superintend 
ent,  John  Johnson,  and  the  commandant  at  Detroit,  Major 
Matthews,  in  their  correspondence  with  Brant,  gave  him  every 
flattering  assurance  of  countenance  and  protection  in  his  hos 
tile  movements,  which  might  fall  short  of  actual  aid  by  arras.3 

In  May,  1787,  Major  Matthews  writes  to  Brant,  apparently 
with  the  sanction  of  the  Governor  of  Canada,  (Lord  Dorchester, 
formerly  Sir  Guy  Carleton,)  as  he  says,  "  his  lordship  is  sorry 
to  learn,"  &c.,  as  follows  : — 

"  In  your  letter  to  me  you  seem  very  apprehensive  that  the 
English  are  not  very  anxious  about  the  defence  of  the  posts. 
You  will  soon  be  satisfied  that  they  have  nothing  more  at 
heart,  provided  that  it  continues  to  be  the  wish  of  the  In 
dians,  and  that  they  remain  firm  in  doing  their  part  of  tho 
business,  by  preventing  the  Americans  from  coming  into  their 
country,  and  consequently  from  marching  to  the  posts.  On 
the  other  hand,  if  the  Indians  think  it  more  for  their  interest 
that  the  Americans  should  have  possession  of  the  posts,  and 

1  Heckewelder's  Narrative.          *  Perkins,  332.  3  Stone,  vol.  ii. 


THE  NORTHWESTERN  TERRITORY.  183 

be  established  in  their  country,  they  ought  to  declare  it,  that 
the  English  need  no  longer  be  put  to  the  vast  and  unnecessary 
expense  and  inconvenience  of  keeping  posts,  the  chief  object 
of  which  is  to  protect  their  Indian  allies,  and  the  loyalists 
who  have  suffered  with  them.  It  is  well  known  that  no  en 
croachments  ever  have,  or  ever  will  be  made,  by  the  English 
upon  the  lands  or  property  of  the  Indians,  in  consequence  of 
possessing  the  posts  ;  how  far  that  will  be  the  case,  if  ever  the 
Americans  get  into  them,  may  very  easily  be  imagined,  from 
their  hostile  perseverance,  even  without  that  advantage,  in 
driving  the  Indians  off  their  lands,  and  taking  possession  of 
them."1 

With  such  assurances  on  the  part  of  British  authority, 
together  with  the  ever  active  influence  of  such  wretches  as 
Alexander  McKee,  Matthew  Elliot,  and  Simon  Girty,  who 
were  living  disgraces  on  civilized  society,  in  their  transactions 
between  the  whites  and  the  Indians,  it  is  not  a  matter  of  sur 
prise  that  the  hostility  of  the  confederated  nations  against  the 
Americans  should  have  been  kept  ever  alive.  Of  the  history 
of  the  lives  and  conduct  of  these  Indian  traders,  English 
agents,  and  leaders  of  murderous  war-parties  of  savages,  (for 
they,  each,  combined  these  characters,)  this  is  not  the  place  to 
speak ;  but  the  whole  history  of  the  border  warfare  of  the 
Northwest,  is  replete  with  the  instances  of  their  perfidy  and 
cruelty,  which  in  the  scale  of  humanity,  sunk  them  beneath 
the  savage  whose  cause  they  had  espoused. 

In  the  spring  of  1700,  General  Washington  being  desirous 
of  learning  the  real  sentiments  of  the  Northwestern  Indians, 
Governor  St.  Clair  instructed  Major  Hamtramck  at  Fort  Knox 
(Vincennes)  to  send  some  experienced  person  to  ascertain  the 
views  and  feelings  of  the  Miamis  and  their  confederates. 
The  person  chosen  was  Anthony  Gamelin,  who  proceeded  on 
his  mission  on  the  5th  of  April.  The  Piankeshaws,  Kicka- 
poos,  and  Weas,  all  referred  him  to  their  elder  brethren,  the 
Miamis,  so  that  he  had  to  journey  on  to  the  point  where  the 

1  Stone's  Brant,  ii.  271. 


184  HISTORY   OF   WISCONSIN. 

Miamis,  Shawanees  and  Delawares  resided.  He  arrived  there 
on  the  23d  of  April,  and  on  the  24th  he  assembled  the  In 
dians,  with  whom  he  held  various  conferences  in  public  coun 
cil,  and  in  private  interviews,  during  five  or  six  days,  the 
result  of  which  may  thus  be  summed  up. 

He  gave  to  each  nation  two  branches  of  wampum,  and  made 
his  speech  to  them,  in  the  presence  of  the  French  and  Eng 
lish  traders,  who  were  invited  to  attend.  He  showed  them 
the  treaty  at  Muskingum  (Fort  Harmar)  made  between  Gover 
nor  St.  Glair  and  sundry  nations,  which  displeased  them.  He 
offered  them  peace,  without  proposing  any  conditions  for  them 
to  submit  to  at  this  time.  They  told  him  they  could  give  him 
no  answer  without  hearing  from  their  father  at  Detroit ;  the 
Shawanees  and  Delawares  delivered  him  back  his  branches 
of  wampum,  and  desired  him  to  go  to  Detroit  to  hear  the 
chief.  Le  Gris,  the  great  chief  of  the  Miamis,  told  him  he 
might  go  back  when  he  pleased  ;  that  he  could  not  give  him 
a  positive  answer  until  all  the  Lake  nations,  together  with  the 
commandant  at  Detroit,  had  been  consulted  on  the  subject 
of  his  speeches,  of  which  he  asked  a  copy  in  writing.  He 
promised  to  send  an  answer  to  Vincennes  in  thirty  days. 
Gamelin  gave  him  a  copy  of  his  speech. 

At  the  last  council,  Gamelin  told  him  he  had  nothing  to  say 
to  the  commandant  at  Detroit,  nor  the  commandant  to  him ; 
that  he  had  given  them  a  copy  of  his  speeches  to  be  shown  to 
him,  and  that  he  would  not  go  to  Detroit,  unless  they  intended 
to  take  him  there.  Blue  Jacket  told  him,  that  they  did  not 
intend  to  force  him  to  go  there,  but  only  proposed  it  to  him, 
thinking  it  for  the  best.  An  answer  was  promised  in  thirty 
days.1 

On  the  8th  of  May,  Gamelin  returned  to  Fort  Knox ;  and 
on  the  llth,  news  arrived  that  the  northern  savages  had 
already  gone  to  war  upon  the  Americans,  and  that  three  days 
after  Gamelin  left  the  Miamis,  an  American  captive  had  been 
burned  in  their  village.2  All  these  matters  plainly  foretelling 

i  Perkins,  329.     Am.  State  Papers,  v.  93.  2  Idem.  87. 


THE  NORTHWESTERN   TERRITORY.  185 

trouble  on  the  frontier,  Governor  St.  Clair  hastened  to  Fort 
Washington  to  concert  with  General  Harmar  a  campaign  into 
the  country  of  the  hostile  tribes. 

It  has  been  justly  remarked,1  that  at  the  time  of  Gamelin's 
mission,  in  the  spring  of  1790,  before  any  act  of  hostility  on 
the  part  of  the  United  States  had  made  reconciliation  impos 
sible,  and  before  the  success  of  the  savages  had  made  their 
demands  such  as  could  not  be  granted,  it  would  have  been  true 
wisdom  to  have  sent  to  the  northern  tribes,  not  an  Indian 
trader,  but  such  a  representation  as  was  sent  three  years  later, 
composed  of  General  Benjamin  Lincoln,  Beverly  Randolph, 
and  Timothy  Pickering. 

It  is  difficult  to  determine  the  extent  of  the  aid,  by  advice 
or  otherwise,  which  was  furnished  the  Indians  by  the  high  and 
responsible  officers  of  the  British  crown ;  but  it  is  certain  that 
by  the  means  of  such  characters  as  McKee,  Elliot,  and  Girty, 
who  were  the  channels  of  intercourse  between  them,  every 
peaceful  message  from  such  officers  was  stopped  on  its  way 
to  the  excited  children  of  the  forest,  while  every  word  of  a 
hostile  character  was  added  to  and  exaggerated.2  "You  in 
vite  us,"  said  one  of  the  war  chiefs  to  Gamelin,  "to  stop  our 
young  men.  It  is  impossible  to  do  it,  being  constantly  encou 
raged  by  the  British." 

The  course  adopted  by  the  United  States  government 
toward  the  tribes  of  the  Northwest,  was  no  longer  peaceable. 
Governor  St.  Clair,  in  virtue  of  the  authority  granted  by 
Congress,  by  the  act  of  29th  September,  1789,  and  in  pursu 
ance  of  the  order  of  the  President,  dated  6th  of  October, 
called  on  Virginia  for  one  thousand,  and  on  Pennsylvania  for 
five  hundred  militia ;  this  call  was  made  on  the  15th  of  July, 
1790,  and  the  force  was  distributed  as  follows : — Three  hundred 
were  to  meet  at  Fort  Steuben,  (Jeffersonville,)  to  aid  the 
troops  from  Fort  Knox,  (Vincennes,)  against  the  Weas  and 
Kickapoos  of  the  Wabash ;  seven  hundred  were  to  gather  at 
Fort  Washington,  (Cincinnati,)  and  five  hundred  just  below 

1  Perkins,  p.  337.  2Am.  State  Papers,  v.  196. 


186  HISTORY  OF   WISCONSIN. 

Wheeling ;  the  two  latter  bodies  being  intended  to  march 
with  the  federal  troops  from  Fort  Washington,  under  General 
Harmar,  against  the  towns  at  the  junction  of  the  St.  Mary 
and  the  St.  Joseph.1 

About  the  middle  of  September,  the  militia  began  to  arrive 
at  Fort  Washington,  from  Kentucky  and  Pennsylvania ;  they 
were  ill  equipped,  destitute  of  camp  kettles  and  axes,  and 
with  arms  wholly  unfit  for  service,  and  several  without  any ; 
among  them  were  old,  infirm  men,  and  young  boys  hardly 
able  to  bear  arms,  and  many  of  whom  had  probably  never 
fired  a  gun — and  the  numbers  which  came  were  far  short  of 
what  had  been  ordered ;  to  all  these  disadvantages  must  be 
added  the  disputes  which  arose  among  them  in  making  the 
choice  of  their  officers,  many  of  the  militia  declaring  they 
would  return  home  unless  certain  individuals  could  receive  the 
command  of  them.2 

The  aversion  of  the  frontier  men  to  act  with  regular  troops 
had  been  anticipated  as  the  cause  of  trouble,  and  it  subse 
quently  proved  so ;  but  every  pains  had  been  taken  by  Gene 
ral  Harmar  to  avoid  the  apprehended  evil,  and  notice  had 
been  given  to  the  British,  that  the  troops  collected  were  to  be 
used  against  the  Indians  alone,  so  that  no  excuse  might  be 
given  to  McKee  and  Co.  for  co-operation.3  On  the  80th  of 
September,  Harmar  left  Fort  Washington  with  a  force  of 
one  thousand  four  hundred  and  fifty-three  men,  and  every  step 
seemed  to  have  been  taken  which  experience  or  judgment 
could  suggest,  to  secure  the  success  of  the  expedition ;  the 
same  seems  to  have  been  true  of  the  march,  as  the  court  of 
inquiry  held  in  1791,  approved  of  every  arrangement.4 

Having  arrived  within  thirty  or  thirty-five  miles  of  the 
Miami  villages,  information  given  by  a  captured  Indian  in 
duced  the  general  to  send  forward  Colonel  John  Hardin  with 
a  detachment  of  six  hundred  militia  and  one  company  of 


1  Am.  State  Papers,  r.  94.  8See  Note  B. 

*  Am.  State  papers,  v.  96,  100.  4  Idem,  xil  24,  3*. 


THE   NORTHWESTERN   TERRITORY.  1ST 

regulars,  to  surprise  the  enemy  and  keep  them  in  their  forts 
until  the  main  body  could  come  up  with  the  artillery.1 

This  party  marched  forward  on  the  14th  of  October,  and 
on  the  next  day,  about  three  o'clock,  reached  the  villages, 
which  they  found  deserted.  On  the  morning  of  the  17th,  the 
main  army  arrived,  and  the  work  of  destruction  commenced ; 
so  that  by  the  21st  the  chief  town,  five  other  villages,  and 
nearly  twenty  thousand  bushels  of  corn  had  been  destroyed.8 

On  reaching  the  Maumee  towns  and  finding  no  enemy,  it 
was  the  design  of  General  Harmar  to  push  forward  and  attack 
the  Wea  and  other  Indian  settlements  upon  the  Wabash,  but 
he  was  prevented  by  the  loss  both  of  pack  horses  and  cavalry 
horses,  which  the  Indians  seem  to  have  stolen  in  quantities 
to  suit  themselves,  in  consequence  of  the  wilful  carelessness 
of  the  owners,  who  made  the  United  States  pay  first  for  tho 
use  of  their  nags,  and  then  for  the  nags  themselves.3 

Dropping  the  plan  of  the  march  on  the  Wabash  towns, 
General  Harmar  despatched  Colonel  Trotter,  with  three  hun 
dred  men,  to  scour  the  woods  in  search  of  an  enemy,  as  the 
tracks  of  women  and  children  had  been  seen  near  by  ;  this 
was  on  the  18th,  but  the  utter  want  of  energy  in  the  ofiicers, 
inattention  to  orders,  and  the  absence  of  discipline  in  tho 
army,  rendered  the  expedition  fruitless.  The  party  returned 
in  the  night  to  the  camp,  after  having  discovered  and  killed 
two  mounted  Indians,  who  were  doubtless  sentinels  of  the 
enemy ;  and  if  this  success  had  been  properly  followed  up, 
there  is  every  reason  to  believe  that  the  Indians  might  have 
been  surprised  in  their  camp,  and  defeated. 

Dissatisfied  with  the  inefficient  chase  of  the  preceding  day, 
on  the  19th  General  Harmar  sent  another  detachment,  under 
the  command  of  Colonel  Hardin,  in  search  of  the  enemy. 
This  force  proceeded  in  the  route  Colonel  Trotter  had  taken 
the  previous  day,  and  found  where  the  enemy  had  encamped. 
The  same  inefficiency  on  part  of  the  commanding  officer, 
amounting  to  every  thing  except  cowardice,  and  the  same 

» See  Note  C.  «  Am.  State  Papers,  xii.  25.  » Idem,  p,  21. 


188  HISTORY  OF  WISCONSIN. 

want  of  discipline  in  the  troops  which  was  exhibited  the  day 
before,  appears  to  have  accompanied  this  detachment,  but 
with  more  disastrous  consequences.  The  enemy  was  dis 
covered,  and  his  camp  was  approached  by  Colonel  Hardin, 
without  giving  any  orders  or  making  any  preparations  for  an 
attack  upon  it.  .He  remarked  to  Captain  Armstrong,  when 
informed  that  the  enemy's  fires  were  seen  at  a  distance,  that 
u  they  would  not  fight !"  and  rode  on  in  front  of  the  advance, 
until  fired  upon  from  behind  the  fires.  Hardin's  loss  of  men 
was  very  severe,  and  he  was  compelled  to  retreat  under  all 
circumstances  which  constitute  a  defeat,  although  the  affair 
was  not  so  considered  by  the  commanding  general. 

The  jealousy  between  the  regulars  and  the  militia,  which 
had  been  anticipated,  began  to  work  mischief.  The  regular 
troops  disliked  to  be  commanded  by  Trotter  and  Hardin  ;  the 
army  officers  despised  the  militia;  and  the  militia,  hating 
them,  were  impatient  under  the  control  of  Harmar  and  his 
staff.  Again,  the  rivalry  between  Trotter  and  Hardin  was 
calculated  to  make  the  elements  of  discord  and  disobedience 
yet  more  widely  spread ;  so  that  all  true  confidence  between 
the  officers  and  men  was  destroyed,  and  with  it,  of  necessity, 
all  true  strength.1 

Although  the  troops  had  been  defeated,  and  their  sanguine 
hopes  had  been  disappointed,  still  the  villages  and  crops  had 
been  burned  and  wasted,  and  this  may  have  been  considered 
a  sufficient  success  by  Harmar,  for  the  army  commenced  its 
homeward  march  on  the  21st  of  October.3 

It  may  well  be  supposed  that  Colonel  Hardin  did  not  feel 
easy  after  his  defeat;  therefore,  the  night  of  the  21st  being 
favourable,  he  urged  the  general  to  send  a  detachment  back 
to  the  villages,  under  the  belief  that  the  Indians  had  returned 
to  the  scene  of  devastation.  Harmar  was  not  much  disposed 
to  engage  in  any  new  experiment,  but  at  length  he  consented, 
and  Hardin  obtained  an  order  for  three  hundred  and  forty 
militia,  forty  of  whom  were  mounted,  and  sixty  regular  troops. 

1  Perking,  342.  2  See  Note  D. 


THE   NORTHWESTERN   TERRITORY.  189 

The  militia  were  under  the  command  of  Colonel  Hardin  him 
self,  and  the  regulars  were  commanded  by  Major  Wyllys.  The 
detachment  reached  the  banks  of  the  Maumee  early  in  the 
morning  of  the  22d,  and  the  spies  reported  that  the  enemy 
was  discovered.  A  plan  of  attack  was  formed,  by  which  the 
enemy  was  to  be  surrounded,  and  the  battalions  were  to  sup 
port  each  other,  or  to  embody,  as  the  occasion  required,  but 
in  no  case  to  separate.  The  attack  commenced,  and,  as  usual, 
disobedience  of  orders  accompanied  it ;  in  place  of  being  sur 
prised,  the  Indians  were  prematurely  alarmed ;  they  fled  in 
different  directions,  and  the  militia  battalions  pursued  them 
in  as  many  directions :  the  regulars,  being  thus  unsupported, 
fell  a  sacrifice  to  the  Indians,  and  a  second  defeat  completed 
the  disastrous  campaign  of  General  Harmar,  from  which  so 
much  had  been  expected  by  the  country.1 

From  the  reports  to  the  secretary  of  war,  and  the  general 
orders  of  the  commanding  general,  it  seems  that  the  destruc 
tion  of  the  villages  and  the  corn  was  considered  by  him  equi 
valent  to  a  victory,  and  that  the  objeat  of  the  campaign  had 
been  effected  by  such  act ;  but  the  public  were  not  of  that 
opinion,  nor  were  the  Indians  themselves,  for  their  own  ac 
count  represents  the  expedition  as  an  utter  failure  and  defeat. 
They  say — "There  have  been  two  engagements  about  the 
Miami  towns,  between  the  Americans  and  the  Indians,  in 
which  it  is  said  the  former  had  about  five  hundred  men  killed, 
and  that  the  rest  have  retreated.  The  loss  was  only  fifteen 
or  twenty  on  the  side  of  the  Indians.  The  Shawanees, 
Miamis,  and  Pottawatamies  were  the  principal  tribes  who 
were  engaged."2  The  commanding  general,  although  not 
guilty  of  any  breach  of  military  duty,  certainly  exhibited  a 
total  inefficiency  for  the  task  intrusted  to  him,  and  the  result 
of  this  expedition  against  the  Northwestern  Indians  re 
dounded  neither  to  his  honour  nor  to  the  credit  and  advantage 
of  the  country.  When  Colonel  Hardin  returned  to  camp 


1  Am.  State  papers,  v.  104, 105.     See  Note  E. 

2  Stone's  Brant,  vol.  ii.  294. 


190  HISTORY  OP  WISCONSIN. 

after  his  second  skirmish,  he  -wished  the  general  either  to 
send  another  party,  or  to  take  the  whole  army  to  the  battle 
ground,  but  Harmar  would  not  favour  either  plan.  "  Ho 
thought,"  he  said,  « the  Indians  had  received  a  good 
Bcourging."  On  the  morning  of  the  23d  of  October,  the  army 
took  up  the  line  of  march  for  Fort  Washington,  (Cincinnati.) 
Two  men,  says  Colonel  Hardin,  wished  to  have  another  tusslo 
with  the  Indians.  Of  the  whole  army,  only  two  I1 

The  failure  of  General  Harmar's  expedition,  and  the  con 
sequent  attacks  by  the  Indians  on  the  new  settlements  on  tho 
Ohio,  made  the  government  sensible  that  decisive  and  strong 
measures  must  immediately  be  adopted,  whereby  a  peace 
should  be  obtained  by  force  of  arms,  or  secured  by  prudent 
and  effective  negotiation.  The  plan  adopted  was  threefold : 
first  to  send  a  messenger  to  the  Western  Indians,  with  offers 
of  peace,  to  be  accompanied  by  some  Iroquois  chiefs,  who 
were  favourable  to  America;  second,  at  the  same  time  to 
organize  expeditions  in  the  West  to  strike  the  Wea,  Miami, 
and  Shawanee  towns,  in  case  it  should  be  clear  that  the  peace 
messenger  should  fail  in  his  mission  ;  and  third,  to  prepare  a 
grand  and  overwhelming  force,  with  which  to  take  possession 
of  the  country  of  the  enemies,  and  build  forts  in  their  midst.* 

Colonel  Thomas  Proctor  was  selected  as  the  peace  commis 
sioner,  who  left  Philadelphia  on  his  mission,  March  12th, 
1791.  Having  reached  Cornplanter's  settlement,  and  with 
difficulty  prevailed  on  certain  Iroquois  chiefs  to  accompany 
him,  provided  they  obtained  a  water  passage,  the  whole  enter 
prise  failed,  as  the  British  commandant  at  Niagara  would  not 
allow  an  English  vessel  to  be  hired  to  convey  the  ambassadors 
up  Lake  Erie ;  and  no  other  could  be  obtained.  This  refusal 
of  Colonel  Gordon  to  grant  the  required  permission,  may,  in 
a  great  measure,  be  accounted  for  in  the  fact  that  the  gover 
nor-general,  Lord  Dorchester,  Colonel  Gordon,  and  Brant, 
(Thayendanegea,)  who  possessed  so  much  influence  over  tho 

1  Hardin'a  Deposition,  Am,  State  Papers,  xii.  34.  Cist's  Miscellany 
i  105,  *  Am.  State  Papers,  xiii.  3& 


THE  NORTHWESTERN    TERRITORY. 

ravages  of  the  Northwest,  were  naturally  offended  at  the  en 
tire  disregard  shown  by  the  American  government  to  such 
influence ;  and  as  those  tribes  were  entirely  under  the  control 
of  the  British  agents,  Dorchester,  Gordon,  and  Brant  might 
look  for  an  appeal  to  them  as  mediators  in  the  coming  quar 
rel;  or  at  least  that  their  mediation  would  be  accepted  by  tho 
Americans,  if  asked  for  by  the  Indians  ;  an  acceptance  of  tho 
kind  given  in  1793,  after  St.  Glair's  defeat,  and  not  then  con 
sidered  dishonourable  or  degrading.  Besides,  the  apparently 
inconsistent  proceedings  of  the  American  government  wero 
calculated  both  to  puzzle  and  excite  the  Indians  and  the  Eng 
lish ;  the  seeming,  although  not  actual  want  of  good  faith  on 
part  of  the  States,  consisted  in  commissioning  General  Scott 
to  make  war  upon  the  Miamis,  Colonel  Proctor  to  treat  of 
peace  with  them,  Governor  St.  Glair  to  invade  and  take  pos 
session  of  their  lands,  and  Colonel  Pickering  to  hold  a  coun 
cil  with  their  brethren  for  burying  the  hatchet  and  quenching 
the  destructive  brand.1 

The  policy  of  the  American  government  is  exhibited  and 
fully  explained  in  the  instructions  of  President  Washington, 
given  through  General  Knox,  secretary  of  war,  to  General 
St.  Clair,  governor  of  the  Northwestern  Territory,  on  his  ap 
pointment,  in  1791,  as  commander-in-chief  of  the  forces  to  be 
employed  in  the  meditated  expedition.  The  following  is  the 
language  used  : — "  An  Indian  war,  under  any  circumstances, 
is  regarded  by  the  great  mass  of  the  people  in  the  United 
States  as  an  event  which  ought,  if  possible,  to  be  avoided. 
*  *  *  The  sacrifices  of  blood  and  treasure  in  such  a  war,  far 
exceed  any  advantages  which  can  possibly  be  reaped  by  it. 
The  great  policy,  therefore,  of  the  general  government,  is  to 
establish  a  just  and  liberal  peace  with  all  the  Indian  tribes 
•within  the  limits  and  in  the  vicinity  of  the  territory  of  the 
United  States.  *  *  *  But  if  all  the  lenient  measures  taken, 
or  which  maybe  taken,  should  fail  to  bring  the  hostile  Indians 
to  a  just  sense  of  their  situation,  it  will  be  necessary  that 

» Stone,  U.  800, 


192  HISTORY   OF   WISCONSIN. 

you  should  use  such  coercive  means  as  you  shall  possess  for 
that  purpose.  *  *  *  If  the  Indians  refuse  to  listen  to  the 
messengers  of  peace  sent  to  them,  it  is  most  probable  they 
will,  unless  prevented,  spread  themselves  along  the  line  of 
frontiers,  for  the  purpose  of  committing  all  the  depredations 
in  their  power.  To  avoid  so  calamitous  an  event,  Brigadier- 
General  Charles  Scott,  of  Kentucky  has  been  authorized  to 
make  an  expedition  against  the  Wea  or  Ouiatanon  towns,  with 
mounted  volunteers,  or  militia,  not  exceeding  the  number  of 
seven  hundred  and  fifty,  officers  included.  *  *  It  is  con 
fided  to  your  discretion  whether  there  should  be  more  than 
one  of  the  said  expeditions  of  mounted  volunteers  or  militia. 
*  *  *  All  captives  are  to  be  treated  with  great  humanity.  It 
will  be  sound  policy  to  attract  the  Indians  by  kindness,  after 
demonstrating  to  them  our  power  to  punish  them  on  all  occa 
sions.  *  *  *  If  no  decisive  indications  of  peace  should  have 
been  produced,  you  will  commence  your  march  for  the  Miami 
village,  in  order  to  establish  a  strong  and  permanent  military 
post  at  that  place.1  *  *  *  The  Indians  continuing  hostile, 
you  will  seek  the  enemy  and  endeavour,  by  all  possible  means, 
to  strike  them  with  great  severity."2  *  *  * 

No  news  of  peace  having  arrived,  General  Scott's  command, 
with  ColonelJohn  Hardin,  as  a  volunteer  without  commission, 
accompanying  him,  moved  on  the  Wabash  towns,  where  they 
arrived  on  the  1st  of  June,  1791.  The  Indians  abandoned 
their  villages  on  the  approach  of  the  army ;  some  slight  skir 
mishing  occurred  at  several  points,  but  no  decisive  battle ; 
several  Indians  were  killed  in  attempting  their  escape  across 
the  river,  and  Colonel  Hardin,  with  a  detachment  of  sixty 
Amounted  infantry,  and  a  troop  of  light  horse  under  Captain 
McCoy,  killed  six  warriors  and  took  fifty-two  prisoners.  The 
village  of  Ouiatanon  was  destroyed :  many  of  the  inhabitants 
were  French,  and  lived  in  a  state  of  civilization.  By  the 
books,  letters,  and  other  documents  found  there,  it  is  evident 

1  Junction  of  the  St.  Joseph's  and  St.  Mary's  rivers,  forming  the  Maumee, 
or  Miami  of  the  Lake.  8  Am.  State  Papers,  v.  171. 


THE   NORTHWESTERN   TERRITORY.  193 

that  place  was  in  close  connection  with,  and  dependent  on 
Detroit.  A  large  quantity  of  corn,  a  variety  of  household 
goods,  peltry,  and  other  articles  were  burned  with  this  vil 
lage,  which  consisted  of  about  seventy  houses,  many  of  them 
well  finished.1 

Scott's  expedition  having  succeeded,  thus  far,  in  destroying 
the  settlements  of  the  enemy,  returned ;  and  not  having 
reached  the  higher  towns  on  the  Wabash,  Governor  St.  Clair 
despatched  a  second  expedition,  under  Colonel  Wilkinson, 
against  the  villages  on  Eel  River.  Wilkinson  left  Fort  Wash 
ington  on  the  1st  of  August,  and  on  the  7th  reached  the  Wa 
bash  just  above  the  mouth  of  Eel  River.  Word  having  been 
brought  to  him  that  the  enemy  was  alarmed  and  flying,  he 
ordered  a  charge,  plunged  through  the  river,  and  found  the 
enemy  unable  to  make  the  smallest  resistance.  Six  warriors, 
two  squaws,  and  a  child  were  killed,  thirty-four  prisoners 
taken,  and  a  captive  released,  with  the  loss  of  two  men  killed 
and  one  wounded.  This  town,  says  Colonel  Wilkinson,  was 
scattered  along  Eel  river  for  full  three  miles.2 

This  expedition  had  the  same  results  as  those  of  Ilarmar 
and  Scott ;  villages  were  burnt,  growing  corn  cut  up,  and 
settlements  destroyed ;  but  no  victory  had  yet  been  obtained 
over  the  Indians,  no  strong  post  had  yet  been  established  in 
their  midst,  and  the  great  object  of  the  government  in  secur 
ing  the  tranquillity  of  the  frontiers  was  yet  as  distant  as 
ever.3 

Governor  St.  Clair,  having  received  his  instructions,  pro 
ceeded  to  organize  his  army,  and  on  the  15th  of  May,  1791, 
he  reached  Fort  Washington.  At  that  time  the  whole  United 
States  troops  in  the  West  amounted  to  two  hundred  and  sixty- 
four  non-commissioned  officers  and  privates  fit  for  duty.  By 
the  17th  of  September,  the  army  was  increased,  by  the  arrival 
of  recruits,  to  two  thousand  three  hundred  strong,  exclusive 
of  militia;  it  then  commenced  its  forward  movements,  and  on 

'Am.  State  Papers,  v.  131.  2Idem,  134, 

3  See  Note  P. 
VOL.  I.— 13 


194  HISTORY   OF   WISCONSIN. 

the  Great  Miami  built  Fort  Hamilton,  the  first  in  the  chain 
of  fortresses.  This  being  completed,  the  troops  moved  on, 
forty-four  miles  further,  and  on  the  12th  of  October  com 
menced  Fort  Jefferson.  On  the  24th,  the  troops  resumed 
their  inarch,  and  on  the  3d  of  November  reached  a  branch  of 
the  Wabash,  which  General  St.  Glair  supposed  to  be  the  St. 
Mary  of  the  Maumee.  Upon  the  banks  of  this  creek  the 
army  encamped  in  two  lines ;  it  was  now  not  more  than  fourteen 
hundred  strong,  owing  to  considerable  desertion  of  the  mili 
tia  on  the  march,  sixty  at  a  time;  sickness  among  the  troops, 
and  the  absence  of  parties  sent  to  arrest  deserters.  General 
St.  Glair  himself  was  suffering  from  a  severe  indisposition,  by 
turns  afflicting  him  in  his  stomach,  lungs,  and  limbs.1 

Here  the  general  was  attacked  in  his  camp,  about  half  an 
hour  before  sunrise,  on  the  morning  of  the  4th  of  November, 
just  as  the  men  had  been  dismissed  from  parade.  The  attack 
was  made  by  the  Indians  on  the  militia,  who  soon  gave  way, 
and  rushed  into  camp,  throwing  the  regulars  into  a  disorder 
which  was  never  altogether  remedied,  and  the  Indians  closely 
following  them.  The  attack  was  made  instantly  by  the  enemy 
on  both  of  St.  Glair's  lines,  and  the  great  weight  of  it  against 
the  centre,  where  the  artillery  was  placed,  from  which  tho 
men  were  repeatedly  driven  with  great  slaughter.  The  gene 
ral  ordered  a  charge  with  the  bayonet;  the  Indians  were 
repulsed,  but  soon  returned  to  the  attack,  and  the  troops  gave 
way.  The  camp  was  entered  by  the  left  flank,  and  the  troops 
driven  in  ;  successful  charges  on  the  enemy  were  repeatedly 
made,  but  many  men,  and  particularly  officers,  were  lost;  the 
artillery  was  silenced,  all  the  officers  killed,  except  one,  who 
<was  badly  wounded,  and  more  than  half  of  the  army  had 
fallen,  when  a  retreat  was  ordered.  This  was  accomplished  ;  it 
was  not  only  a  precipitate  retreat,  but  a  flight ;  the  camp 
and  artillery  were  abandoned,  as  not  a  horse  was  left  alive  to 
draw  off  the  guns,  had  it  been  practicable  ;  arms  and  accoutre 
ments  were  thrown  away  by  the  men,  even  after  the  pursuit 

1  St.  Clair's  Journal.      Am.  State  Papers,  v.  136. 


THE    NORTH  WESTERN    TERRITORY  1Q5 

liad  ceased.  The  Indians  followed  the  retreating  army  about 
four  miles,  and  the  fugitives  continued  their  flight  until  they 
reached  Fort  Jefferson,  twenty-nine  miles  distant,  a  little 
after  sunset.  The  action  began  about  half  an  hour  before 
sunrise,  and  the  retreat  was  attempted  at  half  an  hour  after 
nine  o'clock. 

The  defeat  of  St.  Clair  was  most  disastrous  in  its  conse 
quences  ;  the  loss  of  life,  both  of  officers  and  men,  was  exceed 
ingly  severe  ;  it  was  in  its  effects  a  second  Braddock's  defeat ; 
the  plans  and  hopes  of  Washington,  Knox,  and  St.  Clair,  in 
reference  to  the  Indian  campaign  and  its  results,  were  in  one 
hour  overthrown.  The  causes  which  led  to  so  fatal  a  termina 
tion  of  the  expedition  were  at  a  subsequent  period  fully 
inquired  into  by  a  committee  of  the  House  of  Representa 
tives,  whifti  expressly  declared  the  general  free  of  all  blame  in 
relation  to  every  thing  both  before  and  during  the  action.1  The 
true  causes  of  the  defeat  appear  to  have  been  the  surprise  by 
the  Indians,  who  were  in  no  degree  expected  by  the  army,  and 
the  confusion  introduced  at  the  outset  by  the  flying  militia. 
The  savage  forces  were  led  with  ability  and  valour,  and  in  no 
recorded  battle  did  the  sons  of  the  forest  ever  show  themselves 
better  warriors.  The  retreating  army  reached  Fort  Wash 
ington  on  the  8th  of  November  :  it  is  said  (perhaps  on  the  best 
authority)  that  something  move  than  one  thousand  Indians 
were  engaged  in  this  battle :  St.  Glair's  total  force,  we  have 
seen,  did  not  exceed  fourteen  hundred.2 

The  loss  in  this  disastrous  battle,  on  the  part  of  the  Ameri 
cans,  was  very  great,  when  compared  with  the  numbers  en 
gaged.  Thirty-eight  commissioned  officers  were  killed  upon 
the  field,  and  five  hundred  and  ninety-three  non-commissioned 
officers  and  privates  were  slain  and  missing.  Twenty-one  coin- 
missioned  officers,  several  of  whom  afterward  died  of  their 
wounds,  and  two  hundred  and  forty-two  non-commissioned 
and  privates  were  wounded.  Among  the  dead  was  the  brave 
and  lamented  Major-General  Butler.  No  estimate  could  be 

*  American  State  Papers,  xii.  38.         2  Perkins,  371.     See  also  Note  Gr. 


196  HISTORY   OF   WISCONSIN. 

made  of  the  loss  of  the  Indians,  but  the  probability  is  that  it 
bore  no  proportion  to  that  sustained  by  the  American  army. 
However  unfortunate  St.  Glair  may  have  been,  the  report  of 
the  committee  of  inquiry  explicitly  exculpated  him,  and  more 
satisfactory  testimony  in  his  favour  is  furnished  by  the  circum 
stance  that  he  still  retained  the  undiminished  esteem  and  good 
opinion  of  the  President.1 

Meanwhile  the  exigency  of  the  times  imperiously  demanded 
that  a  new  army  should  immediately  be  raised,  and  when  Con 
gress  had  authorized  such  measure,  it  became  a  difficult  question 
with  the  executive  to  select  a  person  in  all  respects  qualified  for 
its  command.  St.  Clair  had  requested  a  court  of  inquiry  to  exa 
mine  into  the  reasons  of  his  defeat,  and  expressed  his  wish  to 
resign  his  post  as  commander  of  the  Western  forces,  so  soon 
as  the  examination  had  taken  place.  This  proposition  was 
rendered  nugatory,  as  under  the  existing  system  no  court  of 
inquiry  could  be  constituted  to  adjudge  his  case,  and  Wash 
ington  accordingly  informed  him  that  it  was  neither  possible 
to  grant  him  the  trial  he  desired,  nor  to  allow  him  to  retain 
his  position.2  From  the  list  of  general  officers  spoken  of  to 
command  the  army,  the  President  selected  Major-general  An 
thony  Wayne. 

But  previous  to  proceeding  to  the  last  extremity,  it  was  the 
wish  of  Washington  that  every  effort  should  be  made  to  pre 
vent  bloodshed.  Authorized  agents  were  sent  into  the  Indian 
country  to  learn  from  the  several  chiefs  their  views  ;  invitations 
were  extended  to  the  different  nations  to  send  their  deputa 
tions  to  Philadelphia  to  meet  the  Congress  in  session,  and  to 
take  their  newly  adopted  father  by  the  hand  ;  Brant  was 
especially  urged  to  be  present  in  a  peace-making  council ;  but 
all  efforts  were  fruitless.  Although  the  great  Mohawk  did  visit 
the  Federal  capital,  and  was  treated  with  marked  attention ; 
although  five  independent  embassies  had  been  sent  to  the  ini 
mical  tribes,  asking  for  peace ;  although  fifty  Iroquois  chiefs 
visited  the  city  of  Brotherly  Love,  and  in  the  spirit  of  love 

1  Marshall's  Washington,  TO!.  iL        *  Idem.     Sparks's  Washington,  x.  221. 


THE   NORTHWESTERN   TERRITORY.  197 

liad  transacted  their  business  \vitli  the  American  rulers ;  al 
though  various  councils  were  held  by  the  American  agents, 
and  inchoate  treaties  were  formed,  but  not  ratified  ;  and 
although  the  United  States  commissioners,  Lincoln,  Randolph, 
and  Pickering,  met  the  confederated  tribes  of  the  Northwest, 
in  the  presence  of  their  English  friends,  at  the  Rapids  of  the 
Maumee,  in  grand  council, — still,  pacificatory  measures  were 
found  to  be  wholly  impracticable.  The  Indians  insisted  on 
the  Ohio  being  the  boundary  between  themselves  and  the 
Americans ;  they  denied  any  right  they  possessed,  by  the 
treaty  of  peace  with  England,  to  purchase  Indian  lands,  as 
the  Indians  had  never  made  any  agreement  with  the  king,  nor 
with  any  other  nation,  that  they  would  give  to  either  the  ex 
clusive  right  to  purchase  Indian  lands  ;  they  considered  them 
selves  free  to  make  any  bargain  or  cession  of  lands,  whenever 
and  to  whomsoever  they  pleased ;  they  said  the  great  point 
was  that  the  Americans  should  consent  that  the  Ohio  should 
be  the  boundary  line,  and,  without  such  consent,  any  further 
meeting  would  be  unnecessary.1 

At  this  great  council,  which  was  held  at  the  foot  of  the 
Maumee  Rapids,  August  13th,  1793,  were  present  the  chiefs 
of  the  following  nations: — Wyandots,  Seven  Nations  of  Canada, 
Pottawatamies,  Senecas,  of  the  Glaize,  Shawanees,  Cherokees, 
Miamis,  Ottawas,  Messasagoes,  Chippewas,  Munsees,  Mohi 
cans,  Connoys,  Delawares,  Nantakokies,  and  Creeks.  Doubt 
less,  the  victories  they  had  gained,  and  the  favourable  whis 
pers  of  the  British  agents,  closed  the  ears  of  the  red  men, 
and  all  propositions  were  rejected  in  one  form  or  another. 
This  of  necessity  closed  the  attempts  of  the  United  States  to 
make  peace,  and  from  the  month  of  August  the  preparations 
for  a  decision  by  arms  of  the  question  pending  between  the 
white  and  red  men  went  forward  constantly.2 

The  causes  which  led  to  the  rejection  of  the  liberal  terms 

»  American   State   Papers,    v.  35G   et  passim.       Stone's  Brant,  ii.  828. 
Sparks's  Washington,  x.  313.     See  Note  IL 
*  Perkins,  381,  394. 


198  HISTORY   OF   WISCONSIN. 

offered  by  the  United  States,  and  the  staking,  as  it  were,  by 
the  Indians,  of  their  very  existence,  on  a  renewed  contest  of 
arms,  may  be  found  in  the  expected  aid  of  England,  and  also 
of  Spain.  Brant,  some  years  afterward,  uses  this  language : 
"  For  several  years  we  were  engaged  in  getting  a  confederacy 
formed,  and  the  unanimity  occasioned  by  these  endeavours 
among  our  western  brethren  enabled  them  to  defeat  two 
American  armies.  The  war  continued  without  our  brothers 
the  English,  giving  any  assistance,  except  a  little  ammunition  ; 
and  they  seeming  to  desire  that  a  peace  might  be  concluded; 
we  tried  to  bring  it  about  at  the  time  that  the  United  States 
desired  it  very  much,  so  that  they  sent  commissioners  from 
among  their  first  people  to  endeavour  to  make  peace  with  the 
hostile  Indians.  We  assembled,  also,  for  that  purpose,  at  the 
Miami  River,  in  the  summer  of  1793,  intending  to  act  as  me 
diators  in  bringing  about  an  honourable  peace,  and  if  that 
could  not  be  obtained,  we  resolved  to  join  our  western  bre 
thren  in  trying  the  fortune  of  war.  But  to  our  surprise,  when 
upon  the  point  of  entering  upon  a  treaty  with  the  commission 
ers,  we  found  that  it  was  opposed  by  those  acting  under  the 
British  government,  and  hopes  of  further  assistance  were  given 
to  our  western  brethren,  to  encourage  them  to  insist  on  the 
Ohio  as  a  boundary  between  them  and  the  United  States."1 

This  confidence  in  English  aid  was  excited  among  the  In 
dians  by  such  channels  as  Elliot,  McKee,  and  Girty;  but  it 
was  afterward  strengthened  by  the  governor-general  of 
Canada,  Lord  Dorchester,  who,  in  February,  1794,  in  address 
ing  the  deputies  from  the  council  of  1793,  said,  among  other 
equally  significant  matters  : — "  Children  :  I  flattered  myself 
with  the  hope  that  the  line  proposed  in  the  year  eighty-three, 
to  separate  us  from  the  United  States,  which  was  immediately 
broken  l>y  themselves  as  soon  as  the  peace  was  signed,  would 
have  been  mended,  or  a,  new  one  drawn  in  an  amicable  manner. 
In  this  I  have  been  disappointed.  Children  :  Since  my  return 
I  find  no  appearance  of  a  line  remains ;  and  from  the  manner 

1  Stone's  Brant,  ii.  358. 


THE   NORTHWESTERN  TERRITORY.  199 

in  which  the  people  of  the  United  States  rush  on,  and  act, 
and  talk  on  this  side,  and  from  what  I  learn  of  their  con 
duct  toward  the  sea,  I  shall  not  be  surprised  if  we  are  at  war 
with  them  in  the  course  of  the  present  year ;  and  if  so,  a  line 
must  then  be  drawn  by  the  warriors.  *  *  *  I  shall 
acknowledge  no  lands  to  be  theirs  which  have  been  encroached 
on  by  them  since  the  year  1788.  They  then  broke  the  peace, 
and  as  they  kept  it  not  on  their  part,  it  doth  not  bind  on 
ours.  Therefore  all  their  approaches  toward 

us  since  that  time,  and  all  the  purchases  made  by  them,  I  con 
sider  as  an  infringement  on  the  king's  rights.  And  when  a 
line  is  drawn  between  us,  be  it  in  peace  or  war,  they  must  lose 
all  their  improvements  and  houses  on  our  side  of  it.  Those 
people  must  all  be  gone,  who  do  not  obtain  leave  to  become 
the  king's  subjects."1 

One  of  the  strongest  assurances  that  England  could  give 
the  confederates  that  she  would  espouse  their  cause,  was  send 
ing  Governor  Simcoe,  in  April,  1794,  to  erect  a  fort  at  the 
Rapids  of  the  Maumee,  within  the  acknowledged  territories  of 
the  United  States  ;  which  was  not  only  built  and  fortified,  but 
its  commander  was  well  nigh  coming  to  hostilities  with  General 
"Wayne,  on  the  day  of  his  victory  over  the  Indians  at  that 
place.2  In  May,  1794,  a  messenger  from  the  Mississippi  Pro 
vinces  of  Spain,  also  appeared  in  the  Northwest,  offering 
assistance.  "Children,"  he  said,  "you  see  me  on  my  feet, 
grasping  the  tomahawk  to  strike  them.  We  will  strike  toge 
ther.  I  do  not  desire  you  to  go  before  me,  in  the  front,  but 
to  follow  me."3  Spain  had  long  been  fearful  and  jealous  of 
the  Western  colonists ;  she  had  done  all  in  her  power  to  sow 
dissensions  between  the  Americans  and  the  Southern  Indians, 
and  now  hoped  to  cripple  her  Anglo-Saxon  antagonist  by 
movements  at  the  North.4 

General  Wayne  was  now  using  all  exertions  to  bring  an 
army  into  the  field — to  grapple  with  this  "  Hydra,"  as  he 


i  Perkins,  395.  See  Note  I.  2Note  A. 

a  Stone,  vol.  ii.  375.  4  Am.  State  Papers,  vol.  v.  304,  308,  825. 


200  HISTORY  OF   WISCONSIN. 

termed  it,  of  Indian,  British,  and  Spanish  enmity.  We  have 
seen  that  the  policy  of  the  government  was  to  be  prepared  for 
war,  while  strenuously  using  all  exertions  for  honourable 
peace;  therefore,  Wayne's  "legion"  having  passed  the  winter 
of  1792-3  at  Legionville,  moved  down  the  river  to  Fort 
Washington,  in  May,  1793,  where  it  was  encamped,  and  en 
gaged  in  drilling  and  preparations,  the  executive  having 
directed  the  commander-in-chief  to  issue  a  proclamation  for 
bidding  all  hostile  movements  north  of  the  Ohio,  until  the 
Northern  commissioners  were  heard  from.1  The  final  mes 
sages  between  the  American  commissioners  and  the  Indians, 
took  place  on  the  16th  of  August,  at  the  mouth  of  Detroit 
lliver,  and  information  was  immediately  sent  to  General 
Wayne  by  three  distinct  channels,  advising  him  of  the  issue 
of  the  negotiations. 

On  the  7th  of  October  the  legion  left  Cincinnati,  and  on 
the  13th  encamped  at  a  strong  position  selected  by  Wayne, 
about  six  miles  in  front  of  Fort  Jefferson.  This  "  fortified 
camp"  he  named  Fort  Greenville;  it  afterward  became  noted 
for  the  great  treaty  concluded  there,  and  is  near  the  site 
of  the  present  town  of  Greenville,  in  Darke  county,  Ohio. 
Here  the  army  wintered  ;  one  of  the  duties  performed  was  of 
a  humane  and  melancholy  character  :  on  the  23d  or  24th  of 
December,  a  detachment  was  sent  forward  to  take  possession 
of  the  field  of  St.  Glair's  defeat.  They  arrived  on  the  spot 
on  Christmas  clay.  "  Six  hundred  skulls,"  says  one  present, 
"  were  gathered  up  and  buried :  when  we  went  to  lie  down  in 
our  tents  at  night,  we  had  to  scrape  the  bones  together  and 
carry  them  out,  to  make  our  beds."2  At  this  place  Fort  Re 
covery  was  built  and  garrisoned. 

One  attack  had  been  made  by  the  Indians,  and  only  one, 
previous  to  the  troops  going  into  winter  quarters  at  Fort 
Greenville.  On  the  17th  of  October  a  detachment  of  ninety 


1  American  State  Papers,  vol.  v.  42. 

8  American  Pioneer,  vol.  ii.  294.     Will's  Letter.     Dillon's  Indiana,  vol.  L 
360.     American  State  Papers,  vol.  i.  458. 


THE  NORTHWESTERN   TERRITORY.  201 

men,  commanded  by  Lieutenant  Lowry  and  Ensign  Boyd, 
conducting  a  quantity  of  provisions  and  military  stores  from 
Fort  Washington,  was  attacked,  early  in  the  morning,  by  a 
superior  force  of  savages,  seven  miles  in  advance  of  Fort  St. 
Glair.  After  a  severe  skirmish,  both  officers  were  killed,  and 
the  detachment  retreated  to  Fort  St.  Clair,  leaving  thirteen 
of  their  number  on  the  field,  together  with  seventy  horses,  and 
the  stores  in  twenty-one  wagons,  to  the  mercy  of  the  enemy. 
The  whole  number  killed  was  fifteen.  The  wagons  and  a  large 
portion  of  their  contents  were  subsequently  recovered.1 

During  the  spring  of  1794,  General  Wayne  was  steadily 
engaged  in  making  every  necessary  preparation  for  striking 
a  sure  blow  at  the  proper  time ;  arid,  by  means  of  his  spy 
company,  kept  himself  well  informed  of  the  plans  and  move 
ments  of  the  savages.  It  appeared  that  the  promise  of  aid 
from  the  British  was  still  encouragingly  given  to  them ;  two 
Pottawatamies,  taken  prisoners  by  Captain  Gibson,  of  the 
spies,  June  5th,  in  reply  to  various  questions,  answered  to  the 
following  effect : — "  The  British  had  sent  three  chiefs — a  Dela 
ware,  a  Shawanee,  and  a  Miami — to  invite  the  Pottawatamies 
to  go  to  war  with  the  Americans.  The  British  were  on  their 
way  to  war  against  the  Americans  ;  the  number  of  their  troops 
at  Roche  de  Bout,  for  that  purpose,  was  four  hundred, 
with  two  pieces  of  artillery,  exclusive  of  the  Detroit  militia. 
They  had  made  a  fortification  around  Colonel  McKee's  house, 
and  stores  in  which  they  had  deposited  all  their  stores  of 
ammunition,  arms,  clothing,  and  provision,  which  they  promised 
to  supply  to  all  the  hostile  Indians  in  abundance.  The  British 
troops  and  militia  that  will  join  the  Indians  to  go  to  war  with 
the  Americans  will  amount  to  fifteen  hundred,  agreeably  to 
the  promise  of  Governor  Sirncoe,  who  will  command  the  whole. 
The  British  and  the  Indians  will  advance  against  the  Ameri 
cans  about  the  last  of  this  moon,  or  beginning  of  next."2  (July.) 

The  conduct  of  the  Indians  was  in  conformity  with  a  reli- 


1  Monette,  vol.ii.  297.     American  State  Papers,  vol.  i.  361. 
f  American  State  Papers,  vol.  v.  489. 


202  HISTORY   OF   WISCONSIN. 

ance  on  such  aid,  and  a  belief  in  all  the  reports  brought  to 
their  ears  by  agents  of  tbe  British,  who  were  constantly  stimu 
lating  them  to  acts  of  hostility.  On  the  30th  of  June, 
the  chief  "Little  Turtle,"  at  the  head  of  one  thousand  to 
fifteen  hundred  warriors,  made  an  assault  on  Fort  Recovery, 
the  advanced  post  of  the  Americans :  although  repelled,  the 
assailants  returned  to  the  charge,  and  kept  up  the  attack  the 
whole  of  that  day  and  part  of  the  following.  This  assail 
ing  force  was  not  entirely  composed  of  natives,  for  General 
Wayne,  in  his  despatch,  says  "that  his  spies  report  a  great 
number  of  white  men  with  the  Indians ;  and  that  they  insist 
there  were  a  considerable  number  of  armed  white  men  in 
the  rear,  who  they  frequently  heard  talking  in  our  language., 
and  encouraging  the  savages  to  persevere  in  the  assault ;  that 
their  faces  were  generally  blacked,  except  three  British  officers 
who  were  dressed  in  scarlet,  and  appeared  to  be  men  of 
great  distinction,  from  being  surrounded  by  a  large  body  of 
white  men  and  Indians,  who  were  very  attentive  to  them. 
These  kept  at  a  distance  in  the  rear  of  those  that  were  en 
gaged."1  In  this  attack  the  Americans  lost  twenty-five  killed 
and  missing,  and  thirty  wounded. 

General  Wayne  having  been  joined  at  Greenville  by  Gene 
ral  Scott,  on  the  26th  of  July,  with  sixteen  hundred  mounted 
men  from  Kentucky,  the  "legion"  moved  forward  on  the 
28th.  On  the  8th  of  August  the  army  was  near  the  junction 
of  the  An  Glaize  and  the  Maumee,  at  Grand  Glaize,  and  pro 
ceeded  at  once  to  build  Fort  Defiance  where  the  rivers  meet. 
While  engaged  in  this  work,  Wayne  received  full  and  accurate 
accounts  of  the  Indians,  and  the  aid  they  would  receive  from 
the  volunteers  of  Detroit  and  elsewhere ;  he  learned  the  na 
ture  of  the  ground,  and  the  circumstances  favourable  and 
tinfavourable ;  and,  upon  the  whole,  considering  the  spirit  of 
his  troops,  officers  and  men,  regulars  and  volunteers,  he  de 
termined  to  march  forward  and  settle  matters  at  once.  But 
yet,  faithful  to  the  spirit  of  compromise  and  peace,  so  forcibly 

1  American  State  Papers,  vol.  v.  488. 


THE   NORTHWESTERN   TERRITORY.  203 

taught  by  Washington,  on  the  18th  of  August  he  sent  Chris 
topher  Miller,  who  had  been  naturalized  among  the  Shawanees, 
and  had  been  taken  prisoner  on  the  llth  by  Wayne's  spies, 
as  a  special  messenger,  offering  terms  of  friendship.1 

On  the  15th  the  troops  moved  forward,  and  met  Miller 
returning  with  a  message  that  if  the  Americans  would  wait 
ten  days  at  Grand  Glaize,  they  (the  Indians)  would  decide  for 
peace  or  war.  Wayne's  reply  to  this  was  only  by  marching 
straight  on.  On  the  18th  the  legion  had  advanced  forty-one 
miles  from  Grand  Glaize,  and  being  now  near  the  long  looked- 
for  foe,  began  to  throw  up  some  light  works  called  Fort  De- 
posite,  wherein  to  place  the  heavy  baggage  during  the  expected 
battle.  On  the  20th,  at  seven  or  eight  o'clock,  all  baggage 
having  been  left  behind,  the  American  force  moved  down  the 
north  bank  of  the  Maumee. 

Major  Price's  battalion  of  volunteers  was  kept  sufficiently 
advanced  in  front,  so  as  to  give  time  for  the  troops  to  form  in 
case  of  action,  it  not  yet  being  known  whether  the  Indians 
would  decide  for  peace  or  war.  When  they  had  proceeded 
about  five  miles,  Price's  battalion  received  a  severe  fire  from 
the  concealed  enemy,  and  were  compelled  to  retreat.  The 
legion  immediately  formed  in  two  lines,  in  a  thick  wood,  which 
rendered  it  impracticable  for  cavalry  to  act,  as  the  ground  was 
also  covered  with  fallen  timber.  The  enemy  were  formed  in 
three  lines,  within  supporting  distance  of  each  other,  their 
left  resting  on  the  river,  and  their  line  extending  nearly  two 
miles  at  right  angles  with  it;  here  their  right  rested  in  a 
dense  thicket  of  brushwood.  This  extended  front  was  intended 
to  outflank  the  left  of  the  American  line;  when  General  Scott 
was  ordered  to  that  quarter  with  General  Todd's  brigade,  to 
charge  and  turn  the  enemy's  right  flank.  Captain  Campbell 
was  ordered  to  charge  the  enemy's  left ;  this  order  was  promptly 
obeyed,  but  in  the  advance  Captain  Campbell  was  killed,  and 
his  command  was  driven  back  upon  the  infantry.  The  in 
fantry  were  ordered  to  advance  with  trailed  arms,  and  rouse 

1  American  State  Papers,  vol.  v.  490. 


204  HISTORY   OF   WISCONSIN. 

the  Indians  from  their  covert  with  the  bayonet,  and,  when 
roused,  to  deliver  a  well-directed  fire  upon  their  backs,  and 
follow  it  up  immediately  with  a  brisk  charge,  so  as  to  give  no 
time  to  reload,  or  to  form  their  line  again. 

Such  was  the  impetuosity  of  this  charge  by  the  first  line  of 
infantry,  that  the  Indians  and  Canadians  were  driven  from  all 
their  coverts  so  rapidly,  that  only  a  part  of  the  second  line 
of  General  Scott's  mounted  battalion  could  gain  their  position 
in  time  to  take  an  active  part  in  the  battle.  The  Indians 
were  driven  through  the  thick  woods  and  fallen  timber  more 
than  two  miles  in  the  course  of  one  hour,  by  less  than  half 
their  number.1 

The  force  of  the  Indians  and  their  white  allies  was  esti 
mated  at  about  two  thousand  combatants ;  the  troops  under 
General  Wayne,  who  were  actually  engaged  did  not  exceed 
nine  hundred.  The  woods,  for  a  considerable  distance,  were 
strewed  with  the  dead  bodies  of  the  Indians  and  their  white 
allies — the  latter  having  been  armed  with  British  muskets  and 
bayonets.  The  loss  of  the  American  army  was  comparatively 
small.  Of  the  legion  of  cavalry,  Captain  Robert  Mis  Camp 
bell,  Lieutenant  Henry  B.  Towles,  and  twenty- four  non-com 
missioned  officers  and  privates  were  killed,  and  eighty-seven 
officers  and  privates  wounded.  Of  the  dragoons  and  artillery, 
three  were  killed  and  eight  wounded.  Of  the  Kentucky  volun 
teers,  seven  were  killed  and  thirteen  wounded.  The  total  loss 
of  killed  and  missing,  including  eleven  who  died  of  their 
wounds  was  forty-four  :  the  whole  number  of  wounded  was  one 
hundred.2 

The  battle  was  fought  in  view  of  the  British  post:  the 
Americans  encamped  for  three  days  on  the  banks  of  the 
Maumee,  in  sight  of  the  fort :  the  troops  burned  all  the 
houses  and  destroyed  all  property  of  every  kind  belonging 
to  the  Indians  and  Canadians,  as  well  as  the  house  and  store 

i  American  State  Papers,  vol.  i.  491.  Butler's  Kentucky,  p.  237.  Monette, 
vol.  ii.  305. 

8  American  State  Papers,  vol.  i.  491.     See  also  Note  K. 


THE  NORTHWESTERN   TERRITORY.  205 

of  the  British  agent — AlcKee.  General  Wayne  reconnoitred 
the  fort  and  its  defences,  by  advancing  with  his  staff  within 
range  of  the  guns  :  this  gave  occasion  to  the  correspondence 
between  Major  Campbell,  the  British  commandant,  and  Gene 
ral  Wayne,  which  has  been  formerly  mentioned.1 

This  was  one  of  the  most  decisive  battles  ever  fought  with 
the  Western  Indians,  and  tended  more  than  any  other  to 
humble  the  power  and  spirit  of  the  hostile  tribes.  The  name 
of  General  Wayne  alone  was  more  terror  to  them  than  an 
army,  for  they  looked  upon  him  as  a  chief  who  never  slept, 
and  whom  no  art  could  surprise. 

The  army  returned  to  Fort  Defiance,  where  it  arrived  Au 
gust  27th,  having  laid  waste  all  the  adjacent  country.  The 
defences  of  the  fort  were  completed,  and  the  line  of  march 
was  taken  up  for  the  "Miami  Villages"  at  the  confluence  of 
the  St.  Joseph's  and  the  St.  Mary's  Rivers,  forty-seven  miles 
above  Fort  Defiance.  A  site  was  here  selected  by  General 
Wayne  for  another  stockade  fort,  which  was  completed  by 
the  23d  of  October,  and  named  by  Colonel  Hamtramck 
"Fort  Wayne,"  in  honour  of  the  commander-in-chief. 

On  the  18th  of  October  the  cavalry  and  a  greater  portion 
of  the  infantry  set  out  frpm  Fort  Wayne  on  their  march  for 
Greenville.  On  their  way  a  detachment  was  left  at  Lora- 
mie's  Creek,  seventy  miles  from  Fort  Wayne,  where  Fort 
Lorainie  was  erected.  On  the  20th  of  November  the  regular 
troops  went  into  winter  quarters  at  Greenville.  The  cam 
paign  of  1794  put  a  close  to  the  Indian  hostilities  in  the 
northwest.  The  spirit  and  power  of  the  savages  had  been 
subdued ;  their  country  had  been  ravaged  with  fire  and 
sword ;  their  houses  and  their  fields  were  destroyed ;  their 
supplies  consumed ;  their  hopes  of  checking  the  advance  of 
the  white  population  had  been  blasted ;  and  now,  fearing  the 
power  of  the  United  States,  they  soon  began  to  evince  a  dis 
position  to  enter  into  amicable  negotiations  for  a  permanent 

1  See  Note  AJ 


206  HISTORY   OF  WISCONSIN. 

treaty  of  peace  and  friendship,  notwithstanding  the  opposition 
urged  by  the  British  agents.1 

Strong  attempts  were  made  by  these  agents,  that  their 
opposition  should  be  affective ;  Governor  Simcoe  sent  for  the 
chiefs  of  the  different  hostile  Indians,  inviting  them  to  meet 
him  at  the  mouth  of  the  Detroit  River  to  hold  a  treaty. 
Simcoe,  McKee,  and  Brant,  together  with  Blue  Jacket,  Buck- 
ongahelas,  the  Little  Turtle,  Captain  Jonny,  and  other  chiefs 
of  the  Delawares,  Shawanees,  Miamis,  Tawas,  and  Pottawa- 
tamies,  and  about  one  hundred  Mohawks  and  Messasagoes 
who  came  with  Brant,  assembled  at  the  appointed  place  about 
the  first  of  October.  Some  of  the  chiefs  desired  to  treat 
with  Wayne,  but  Governor  Simcoe  insisted  that  the  Indiana 
should  not  listen  to  any  terms  of  peace  from  the  Americans, 
but  to  propose  a  truce,  or  suspension  of  hostilities,  until  the 
spring,  when  a  grand  council  of  all  the  warriors  and  tribes 
of  Indians  should  take  place  for  the  purpose  of  compelling 
the  Americans  to  cross  to  the  east  side  of  the  Ohio ;  and  in 
the  interim,  advised  every  nation  to  sign  a  deed  or  convey 
ance  of  all  their  lands  on  the  west  side  of  the  Ohio,  to  the 
king,  so  as  to  give  the  British  a  pretext  or  colour  for  assist 
ing  them,  in  case  the  Americans  refused  to  abandon  all  their 
posts  and  possessions  on  the  west  side  of  the  river ;  and  which 
the  Indians  should  warn  them  to  do  immediately  after  they 
(the  Indians)  were  assembled  in  force  in  the  spring,  and  to 
call  upon  the  British  to  guaranty  the  lands  thus  ceded  in 
trust,  and  to  make  a  general  attack  on  the  frontiers  at  the 
same  time ;  that  the  British  would  be  prepared  to  attack  the 
Americans  also  in  every  quarter,  and  would  compel  them  to 
cross  the  Ohio,  and  to  give  up  the  lands  to  the  Indies. 

Brant  advised  them  to  keep  a  good  heart  and  be  strong ; 
to  do  as  their  father  advised ;  said  he  would  go  home  and 
return  in  the  spring  with  an  additional  number  of  warriors, 
to  fight,  kill,  and  pursue  the  Americans,  who  could  not  possi 
bly  stand  against  the  numbers  and  force  which  would  be  op- 

i  Monette,  vol.  ii.  307,  308. 


THE  NORTHWESTERN   TERRITORY.  207 

posed  to  them  ;  that  he  had  always  been  successful,  and  would 
insure  them  victory.1 

But  notwithstanding  these  inimical  councils,  and  the  un 
usually  large  presents  then  made  to  the  Indians,  the  chiefs 
and  nations  were  much  divided  ;  many  were  inclined  for 
peace ;  many  preferred  holding  their  lands  under  the  Ameri 
cans,  as  they  did  not  like  the  title  of  the  British,  and  in  a 
short  time  the  general  wish  of  the  natives  to  make  peace 
became  apparent.2 

Messengers  of  peace  from  the  Chippewas,  Ottawas,  Sacs, 
Pottawatamies,  and  Miamis,  came  to  Colonel  Hamtramck,  at 
Fort  Wayne,  in  the  last  days  of  December ;  and  on  the  24th 
of  January,  1795,  these  nations,  together  with  the  Delawares, 
Wyandots,  and  Shawanees,  entered  into  preliminary  articles 
with  the  commander-in-chief  at  Greenville.3  As  contribut 
ing  to  this  desirable  result,  may  be  considered  the  circum 
stances,  that  the  red  men  were  disappointed  in  the  conduct 
of  their  white  allies  after  the  action  of  the  20th  of  August : 
Brant  said  "  a  fort  had  been  built  in  their  country  under 
pretence  of  giving  refuge  in  case  of  necessity,  but  when  that 
time  came,  the  gates  were  shut  against  them  as  enemies."4 
During  the  winter,  (as  Wayne  had  laid  waste  their'  fertile 
fields,)  the  savages  were  wholly  dependent  on  the  British,  who 
did  not  half  supply  them ;  their  cattle  and  dogs  died,  and 
they  were  themselves  nearly  starved.5  They  thus  lost  faith 
in  the  British,  and  after  the  carnage  experienced  at  the  hands 
of  the  "  Black  Snake,"  (as  Wayne  was  called,)  the  various 
tribes  by  degrees  made  up  their  minds  to  ask  for  peace,  and 
during  the  winter  and  spring  they  exchanged  prisoners  and 
made  ready  to  meet  General  Wayne  in  June,  at  Greenville, 
for  the  purpose  of  forming  a  definite  treaty,  as  was  agreed 
should  be  done,  by  the  preliminaries  of  24th  of  January.6 

The  representatives  of  the  northwestern  tribes  began  to 


J  Am.  State  Papers,  vol.  v.  548.  2  ibid. 

3  Idem,  559,  566,  567.  4  Stone,  vol.  ii.  390. 

•  American  Pioneer:  i.  53.  *  See  Note  L. 


208  HISTORY  OF  WISCONSIN. 

gather  at  Greenville  during  the  month  of  June ;  they  con 
tinued  to  arrive  until  the  18th  of  July,  and  it  appeared  from 
their  statements  that  most  of  them  had  been  tampered  with 
by  McKee,  Brant,  arid  other  English  agents,  even  after  they 
had  agreed  to  the  preliminaries  of  January  24th,  and  while 
Jay's  treaty  was  still  under  discussion ;  but  they  had  all  de 
termined  to  make  a  permanent  peace  with  the  "  thirteen 
fires,"  and  bury  the  hatchet  for  ever.1 

The  treaty  of  Greenville,  "  a  great  and  abiding  peace 
document,"  was  finally  agreed  upon  and  signed  on  the  3d  of 
August,  1795;  it  was  laid  before  the  Senate,  December  9th, 
and  ratified  December  22d,  and  thus  terminated  the  old  In 
dian  wars  of  the  West.  At  the  execution  of  the  treaty  there 
were  present  eleven  hundred  and  thirty  chiefs  and  warriors 
of  the  several  nations  and  tribes  of  the  Wyandots,  Dela- 
wares,  Shawanees,  Ottawas,  Chippewas,  Pottawatamies,  Mia- 
mis,  Weas,  Eel  Rivers,  Kickapoos,  Piankeshaws,  and  Kaskas- 
kias.  It  was  signed  by  eighty-four  chiefs,  representing  these 
nations  and  tribes,  and  by  General  Anthony  Wayne,  sole 
commissioner  on  part  of  the  United  States. 

By  the  3d  article  of  this  treaty,  certain  lands  were  relin 
quished  to  the  United  States  by  the  Indian  tribes,  and  among 
them  the  only  portions  west  of  Lake  Michigan,  are,  one 
piece  of  land  six  miles  square  at  the  mouth  of  Chicago  River, 
emptying  into  the  southwest  end  of  Lake  Michigan,  where  a 
fort  formerly  stood — one  piece  twelve  miles  square  at  or 
near  the  mouth  of  the  Illinois  River,  emptying  into  the  Mis 
sissippi — one  piece  six  miles  square  at  the  old  Peoria's  fort 
and  village,  near  the  south  end  of  the  Illinois  Lake,  on  said 
Illinois  River. 

By  the  4th  article  of  the  treaty,  in  consideration  of  the 
cessions  and  relinquishments  aforesaid,  the  United  States 
relinquished  their  claims  to  all  other  Indian  lands  northwest 
ward  of  the  river  Ohio,  eastward  of  the  Mississippi,  and 
westward  and  southward  of  the  great  lakes,  and  the  waters 

1  Am.  State  Papers,  vol.  v.  566,  568.     See  Note  M, 


THE   NORTHWESTERN   TERRITORY.  209 

uniting  them,  according  to  the  boundary  line  agreed  on  by 
the  United  States  and  the  king  of  Great  Britain  in  the 
Treaty  of  Peace  made  between  them  in  the  year  1783.  But 
from  this  relinquishment  was  excepted  150,000  acres  near 
the  Rapids  of  the  Ohio,  which  had  been  assigned  to  General 
Clark  for  the  use  of  himself  and  his  warriors ;  the  post  of 
Yincennes  on  the  river  Wabash,  and  the  lands  adjacent,  of 
which  the  Indian  title  has  been  extinguished ;  the  lands  at 
all  other  places  in  possession  of  the  French  people  and  other 
white  settlers  among  them,  of  which  the  Indian  title  has  been 
extinguished,  as  mentioned  in  the  3d  article ;  and  the  Post 
of  Fort  Massac  toward  the  mouth  of  the  Ohio  ;  to  all  the 
above,  the  tribes  relinquish  all  their  title  and  claim. 

By  the  5th  article  of  the  treaty  it  was  provided — That,  to 
prevent  any  misunderstanding  about  the  Indian  lands  relin 
quished  by  the  United  States  in  the  fourth  article,  it  is  now 
explicitly  declared  that  the  meaning  of  that  relinquishment 
is  this :  the  Indian  tribes  who  have  a  right  to  those  lands  are 
quietly  to  enjoy  them,  hunting,  planting,  and  dwelling  thereon 
so  long  as  they  please,  without  any  molestation  from  the 
United  States  ;  but  when  those  tribes,  or  any  of  them,  shall 
be  disposed  to  sell  their  lands,  or  any  part  of  them,  they  are 
to  be  sold  only  to  the  United  States  ;  and  until  such  sale,  the 
United  States  will  protect  all  the  said  Indian  tribes  in  the 
quiet  enjoyment  of  their  lands,  against  all  citizens  of  the 
United  States,  and  against  all  other  white  persons  who  intrude 
upon  the  same.  And  the  said  Indian  tribes  again  acknow 
ledge  themelves  to  be  under  the  protection  of  the  said  United 
States,  and  no  other  person  whatever. 

It  was  during  the  period  of  the  existence  of  the  Indian 
wars,  that  events  of  great  local  importance  to  the  West  oc 
curred,  without  in  their  effects  producing  the  results  which 
were  intended  and  calculated  on  by  the  projectors  and  actors 
in  the  political  dramas  of  the  time.  In  May,  1793,  Citizen 
Genet  appeared  in  the  United  States  as  the  representative  of 
the  French  republic ;  his  secret  instructions  were  to  induce 
the  government,  and  if  that  could  not  be  done,  the  people  of 
Vol.  I.— H 


210  HISTORY   OF   WISCONSIN. 

the  United  States,  to  make  common  cause  with  France  against 
all  her  enemies ;  although  his  open  instructions  spoke  of  the 
United  States  as  being  naturally  neutral  in  the  existing  con 
test  between  France  and  the  united  powers  of  England,  Hol 
land,  and  Spain.  In  pursuance  of  his  plan,  Genet  and  his 
emissaries  began  a  system  of  operations,  the  tendency  of 
which  was  to  involve  the  people  of  the  United  States  in  a  war 
with  the  enemies  of  France,  without  any  regard  to  the  views 
of  the  Federal  government.1  It  was  sought,  through  the  pre 
judices  which  had  been  roused  against  the  Spaniards  relative 
to  the  navigation  of  the  Mississippi,  to  instigate  an  invasion 
of  Louisiana  and  Florida  by  the  people  of  the  United  States, 
and,  if  practicable,  even  a  separation  of  the  Western  States, 
and  an  alliance  with  Louisiana,  under  the  dominion  and  pro 
tection  of  France.  Connected  with  this  scheme,  a  revolt  of 
the  French  population  of  Louisiana  against  the  Spanish  au 
thority  was  contemplated.2 

Genet  and  his  emissaries  moved  boldly ;  they  issued  com 
missions  to  a  number  of  persons  as  officers  in  the  French 
service,  with  authority  to  raise  troops  in  the  United  States 
for  the  contemplated  invasion  and  revolution  of  Louisiana ; 
and  the  field  of  their  operations  was  the  Western  country, 
particularly  in  Kentucky  and  Tennessee.  They  succeeded  so 
far  as  to  persuade  George  Rogers  Clark  to  become  a  major- 
general  in  the  armies  of  France,  and  commandcr-in-chief  of 
the  revolutionary  forces  on  the  Mississippi.  Public  meetings 
were  held;  addresses  were  made  to  the  people  by  democratic 
societies;  representations  and  remonstrances  were  made  to 
Congress ;  the  governor  of  a  sovereign  State  had  expressed 
himself  favourable  to  the  views  of,  and  unwilling  to  act  against 
Genet  and  his  coadjutors  ;  the  French  population  of  Louisiana 
were  elated  with  the  prospect  of  emancipation  from  absolute 
monarchy,  and  were  ripe  for  a  rising  against  the  Spanish  au 
thorities  ;  but  the  wise  arid  prudent  measures  adopted  by 


1  Marsh  all's  Washington.     American  State  Papers,  i.  454. 

2  Monette,  vol.  ii.  482,  and  authorities  cited. 


THE   NORTHWESTERN    TERRITORY.  211 

Washington  and  his  cabinet,  frustrated  all  the  designs  of  the 
French  minister.  Governors  Shelby  and  St.  Clair  and  Gene 
ral  Wayne  were  written  to,  and  instructed ;  troops  were  pre 
pared  ;  Fort  Massac  was  renewed,  in  order  to  stop  by  force 
any  body  of  armed  men  who  should  proceed  down  the  Ohio ; 
just  and  correct  views  of  existing  affairs  were  disseminated 
among  the  people ;  and  by  request  made  of  the  French  go 
vernment  that  Genet  should  be  recalled,  the  plans  of  that  mis 
chief-maker  and  his  agents  were  effectually  defeated;  the 
rulers  of  France  disowned  his  acts — he  was  ordered  back  to 
Europe,  and  the  conclusion  of  the  efforts  of  his  agents  was 
found  in  the  proceedings  of  a  meeting  held  at  Lexington, 
Kentucky,  which  denounced  Washington  and  all  that  adhered 
to  him.1  The  dismemberment  of  the  West  was  nevertheless 
prevented. 

By  the  treaty  of  1783,  Great  Britain  relinquished  to  the 
United  States  all  the  territory  on  the  east  side  of  the  Missis 
sippi,  from  its  sources  to  the  31st  parallel  of  north  latitude, 
which  was  to  be  the  boundary  of  Florida  on  the  north. 

With  this  relinquishrnent,  of  course,  was  ceded  all  the  pre 
vious  rights  of  Great  Britain  to  the  free  navigation  of  the 
river  to  its  mouth,  as  derived  from  previous  treaties  with 
France  and  Spain.  The  United  States  therefore  claimed  the 
free  navigation  of  the  river  to  its  mouth. 

At  the  same  time,  Great  Britain  had  ceded  to  Spain  all  the 
Floridas,  comprising  all  the  territory  east  of  the  Mississippi 
and  south  of  the  southern  limit  of  the  United  States.  Hence 
Spain  possessed  all  the  territory  on  the  west  side  of  the  river, 
and  Florida  on  the  east ;  and  the  river  for  the  last  three  hun 
dred  miles  flowed  wholly  within  the  dominions  of  Spain.  His 
Catholic  Majesty,  therefore,  claimed  the  exclusive  right  to 
the  use  of  the  river  below  the  southern  limit  of  the  United 
States. 

In  reference  to  the  free  navigation  of  the  Mississippi,  the 
United  States  asserted  a  natural  right,  independent  of  any 

1  Am.  State  Papers,  xx.  931.     Marshall,  ii.  335.     Butler,  234, 


212  HISTORY   OF   WISCONSIN. 

claim  derived  through  Great  Britain.  The  American  people 
occupied  and  exercised  dominion  over  the  whole  eastern  por 
tion  of  the  Mississippi  Valley,  comprising  all  the  country 
drained  by  its  great  eastern  tributaries,  and  the  east  bank  as 
low  as  the  northern  limit  of  Florida.  This  gave  to  them  the 
natural  right  to  follow  the  current  of  their  rivers  to  the  sea, 
as  established  by  the  admitted  laws  of  nations. 

The  use  of  the  river  was  necessary,  and  absolutely  indis 
pensable  to  the  Western  settlements,  which  were  now  fast  ris 
ing  into  political  importance.  Situated  as  they  were,  no 
power  on  earth  could  prevent  the  final  appropriation  of  the  river 
below  them  to  their  use,  when  their  numbers  should  enable 
them  to  maintain  their  rights  by  force. 

Such  was  the  question  between  the  two  governments,  and 
concession  on  the  one  side,  or  war  on  the  other,  was  the  only 
alternative  presented.  For  the  whole  West  there  was  but 
one  outlet,  and  that  was  through  the  province  of  Louisiana, 
and  by  way  of  the  port  of  New  Orleans.  This  circumstance 
alone  must  of  necessity  lead  to  difficulties  between  the  Spa 
nish  authorities  and  the  people  of  the  United  States.  The 
Western  people  had,  at  a  very  early  period  after  the  treaty 
of  1783,  begun  to  demand  as  a  right  the  free  navigation  of 
the  Mississippi. 

In  1786,  Spain  occupied  both  banks  of  the  Mississippi 
below  the  mouth  of  the  Ohio,  and  no  less  than  four  military 
posts  on  the  eastern  bank  of  the  former,  confirmed  her  power 
to  collect  heavy  duties  on  all  imports  by  way  of  the  river 
from  the  Ohio  region.  These  duties  were  arbitrary,  and  often 
unjust;  every  boat  descending  the  river  was  compelled  to 
land  and  submit  to  the  revenue  exactions. 

In  1787,  when  Governor  Miro  entered  on  the  duty  of  his 
office  over  the  province  of  Louisiana,  he  resolved,  with  the 
approbation  of  Don  Gardoqui,  the  Spanish  minister  to  the 
United  States,  to  relax  the  import  and  transit  duties  on  the 
river  trade  from  the  Western  settlements.  Many  privileges 
of  free  trade  were  granted  to  favoured  individuals;  among 
these  were  the  privileges  granted  to  Colonel  James  Wilkin- 


THE   NORTHWESTERN   TERRITORY.  213 

son,  between  the  years  1787  and  1790,  of  a  free  trade  m 
tobacco,  flour,  and  other  Western  productions,  besides  the  pri 
vilege  of  introducing  several  hundreds  of  American  families 
into  Louisiana  and  the  West  Florida  districts.1  By  this  new 
arrangement,  the  excitement  of  the  Western  people  was  greatly 
calmed,  and  Miro  was  esteemed  as  a  friend  and  benefactor ; 
but  many  of  the  people  of  Kentucky,  although  satisfied  and 
pleased  with  the  commercial  privileges  extended  by  Miro, 
were  unwilling  to  submit  to  the  species  of  vassalage  implied 
by  the  manner  in  which  the  river  commerce  was  enjoyed. 
They  claimed  these  advantages  not  as  special  favours,  but  as 
common  and  indefeasible  rights. 

In  1791,  the  Spanish  government  boldly  showed  its  designs 
to  dismember  the  Union.  Various  inducements  were  held  out 
to  those  who  were  willing  to  submit  to  the  Spanish  dominion. 
Grants  of  land  were  promised  to  such  as  desired  to  make  their 
permanent  residence  in  Louisiana.  It  was  disseminated  among 
the  people  that  the  Spanish  government  would  grant  to  them 
as  a  community,  every  commercial  advantage  and  privilege 
which  could  be  desired,  provided  they  were  disconnected  from 
the  Federal  government  east  of  the  mountains.  The  Spanish 
minister  resident  in  the  United  States  had  declared  unequivo 
cally  to  his  confidential  correspondent,  that  unless  the  West 
ern  people,  and  especially  those  of  Kentucky,  would  declare 
themselves  independent  of  the  Federal  government,  and  esta 
blish  for  themselves  an  independent  form  of  government,  Spain 
would  never  allow  them  the  free  navigation  of  the  Mississippi; 
"  but  upon  those  terms  he  was  authorized,  and  would  engage 
to  open  the  navigation  of  the  river  for  the  exportation  of  their 
products  and  manufactures,  on  terms  of  mutual  advantage."2 

The  American  government,  in  the  mean  while,  had  been  ex 
erting  itself  by  every  means  of  honourable  negotiation,  to 
obtain  the  "free  navigation  of  the  Mississippi,  from  its  source 
to  its  rnouth  ;"  but  all  efforts  had  been  unsuccessful,  and  Gar- 
doqui,  the  Spanish  minister,  had  given  what  was  considered  a 

1  Butler's  Kentucky,  p.  154,  170.     Monette,  vol.  i.  494  et  passim. 

2  Idem.     Butler,  177. 


214  HISTORY   OF   WISCONSIN. 

conclusive  answer,  that  the  Spanish  king  would  never  permit 
any  foreign  power  to  use  that  river,  both  banks  of  which  be 
longed  to  him.1 

The  Baron  de  Carondelet  succeeded  Governor  Miro  in  his 
office  of  governor  and  intendant  of  Louisiana  and  West 
Florida ;  but  his  policy  in  respect  to  granting  commercial  pri 
vileges  was  the  reverse  of  that  of  his  predecessor.  Hence 
the  people  of  Kentucky,  and  of  that  quarter  of  the  West,  were 
the  more  easily  disposed  to  listen  to  the  persuasions  of  Genet 
and  his  emissaries  to  join  in  the  contemplated  invasion  of 
Florida  and  Louisiana,  and  thus  by  conquest  obtain  the  de 
sirable  boon  of  the  free  navigation  of  the  Mississippi,  which 
the  negotiations  of  government  had  hitherto  failed  to  procure. 
The  unsuccessful  termination  of  Genet's  plans,  while  it  relieved 
Carondelet  from  the  apprehension  of  such  an  invasion,  did  not 
deter  him  from  pursuing  a  similar  course  in  endeavouring  to 
sever  the  people  of  the  West  from  the  general  government  of  the 
United  States  :  he  entered  with  ardour  and  perseverance  on  a 
systematic  plan  of  operations  ;  his  efforts  were  mainly  directed 
on  the  people  of  Kentucky,  with  whom  he  proposed  particu 
larly  to  treat;  and  the  opening  of  the  navigation  of  the  Mis 
sissippi,  and  the  establishment  of  commercial  regulations 
equally  beneficial  to  both  parties,  and  the  Western  people  gen 
erally,  was  the  old  lure  especially  held  out  to  induce  them  to 
enter  into  negotiations  with  his  agent,  Colonel  Gayoso,  who 
was  to  be  sent  by  him  to  New  Madrid  in  October,  1795,  for 
.that  purpose.2  He  did  not  cease  from  his  operations,  or  de 
spair  of  success  until  after  the  treaty  of  Madrid,  nearly  three 
years  afterward.3 

By  this  treaty,  which  was  signed  October  20th,  1795, 
boundaries  were  defined  between  the  territories  of  the  United 
States  and  Spain  ;  the  middle  of  the  Mississippi  was  to  be 
.the  western  boundary  of  the  United  States,  from  its  source  to 
.the  intersection  of  aline  of  demarcation,  which  was  the  thirty- 
first  parallel  of  north  latitude  from  the  Mississippi,  east- 

*  Jay's  Life,  i.  235.       2  Am.  State  Papers,  xx.  926.      s  Monette,  i.  505,  ii.  185. 


THE  NORTHWESTERN   TERRITORY.  215 

&c.  &c.,  being  the  north  boundary  of  the  Floridas. 
The  King  of  Spain  stipulates  that  the  whole  width  of  said 
river,  from  its  source  to  the  sea,  shall  be  free  to  the  people  of 
the  United  States.  He  also  stipulates  that  the  people  of  the 
United  States  be  permitted  for  the  term  of  three  years  to  use 
the  port  of  New  Orleans  as  a  place  of  deposit  for  their  pro 
duce  and  merchandise,  and  to  export  the  same,  free  from  all 
duty,  &c.  &c.  Other  commercial  advantages  were  also  held 
out  as  within  the  reach  of  negotation.1 

The  great  Yazoo  speculation  was  about  this  time  set  on  foot ; 
but  of  which  it  is  here  unnecessary  further  to  speak  than 
merely  to  observe,  that  in  its  concoction  and  projected  opera 
tions  it  bid  fair  to  rival  the  famous  "Mississippi  Scheme"  of 
John  Law.  The  act  of  the  Georgia  Legislature,  which  au 
thorized  this  great  scheme  of  speculation,  was  in  the  next  an 
nual  session  declared  to  be  null  and  void,  as  having  been 
obtained  by  fraud  and  corruption.  Nevertheless,  the  seeds 
had  been  already  sown  which  might  be  expected  to  produce  a 
full  harvest  of  public  as  well  as  private  injury  ;  and  it  was  not 
until  near  twenty  years  afterward,  that  the  "Yazoo  Bubble" 
was  finally  set  at  rest,  by  the  action  of  the  national  legislature 
on  that  subject.2 

Spain,  having  entered  into  an  alliance  with  France,  had  de 
clared  war  against  Great  Britain  in  1796 ;  the  British  autho 
rities  in  Canada  had  planned  an  invasion  of  Upper  Louisiana, 
byway  of  the  lakes  and  the  Illinois  River,  whenever  hostilities 
should  be  formally  proclaimed.  To  prevent  this  invasion  was 
one  object  to  be  gained  by  Spain  in  acceding  to  the  treaty  of 
Madrid,  which  would  place  the  neutral  territory  of  a  friendly 
power  in  the  way  of  military  operations.  But  even  under  the 
terms  of  that  treaty,  the  Spanish  posts  on  the  Mississippi 
were  withheld  from  the  possession  of  the  American  govern 
ment,  and  their  evacuation  delayed,  on  account  of  the  threat 
ened  invasion  of  Spanish  territory,  by  British  troops  from 
Canada,  by  way  of  the  Illinois  River.  The  Spanish  governor 

1  American  State  Papers,  i.  547.  *  Idem,  122,  128. 


216  HISTORY   OF    WISCONSIN. 

had  reason  to  fear  such  event,  as  at  this  time  there  were  per 
sons  of  great  influence  in  the  United  States,  who  would  gladly 
have  made  common  cause  with  the  English  of  Canada,  to  expel 
the  Spaniards  from  the  Mississippi.1 

But  the  failure  to  evacuate  the  military  posts  on  the  Mis 
sissippi,  and  the  surrender  of  the  Natchez  district  according 
to  the  line  of  demarcation  established  by  the  treaty,  was  an 
act  of  perfidy  and  duplicity  on  part  of  the  Spanish  govern 
ment,  which  had  for  its  foundation  the  still  lingering  hope 
that  future  events  would  so  transpire,  that  Spain  would 
still  retain  possession  of  this  portion  of  Louisiana,  and 
that  the  «  Western  people"  might  yet  be  induced  to  separate 
from  their  Atlantic  brethren ;  but  even  those  people  who 
had  favoured  the  overtures  held  out  by  the  Spanish  emis 
saries  had  become  satisfied  with  the  treaty  of  Madrid,  and 
desired  no  other  alliance  than  the  Federal  union.  As  late  as 
September,  1797,  the  Spanish  agent,  Thomas  Powers,  having 
failed  in  his  negotiations  with  Sebastian  and  other  influential 
men  in  Kentucky,  had  penetrated  on  the  line  of  northwestern 
posts  as  far  as  Detroit,  the  head-quarters  of  General  Wilkin 
son,  then  commander-in-chief  of  the  northwestern  army. 

The  real  object  of  Powers  was  to  press  General  Wilkinson 
into  the  Spanish  conspiracy,  with  the  whole  weight  of  his 
power  and  authority,  in  sustaining  the  separation  of  the  west 
ern  territory  from  the  United  States.  Wilkinson  was  at  Mi- 
chillimackinac  when  Powers  arrived  at  Detroit ;  he  caused 
him  to  be  arrested,  on  his  return,  and  thus  secured  Baron  de 
Carondelet's  despatches  ;  after  which  he  hurried  him  off  under 
an  escort,  by  way  of  the  Wabash,  to  Fort  Massac,  in  order  to 
avoid  interception  by  the  Federal  authorities.  In  the  mean 
time,  government  had  been  apprized  of  the  embassy  of  Pow 
ers,  and  instructions  had  been  issued  to  the  governor  of  the 
Northwestern  Territory  to  cause  him  to  be  arrested  and  sent 
a  prisoner  to  Philadelphia.2 

1  See  Note  N. 

2  Martin's  Louisiana,  ii.  151.     Wilkinson's  Memoirs,  ii.  214,  and  App.  xlv, 


THE  NORTHWESTERN   TERRITORY.  217 

General  Wilkinson  had  previously  proceeded  to  a  great 
length  in  his  treasonable  intrigues  and  correspondence  with 
the  Spanish  governor,  and  the  suspicions  of  his  own  govern 
ment  rested  on  him.  His  Imlliant  hopes  of  becoming  the 
head  of  a  new  confederation  had  vanished  ;  he  was  now  anx 
ious  to  retain  his  command,  and  with  it  his  standing  as  a  pa 
triotic  citizen  of  the  United  States.  Hence  his  cold  reception 
of  Mr.  Powers :  he  informed  him  that  the  time  for  separation  had 
gone  by :  that  the  Western  people  had  gained  all  they  desired 
by  the  late  treaty,  and  they  entertained  no  desire  for  an  alliance 
with  either  Spain  or  France ;  and  that  all  political  ferment 
which  existed  four  years  before,  had  now  entirely  subsided.1 

By  the  Spanish  treaty,  New  Orleans,  or  «  an  equivalent 
establishment,"  was  to  be  allowed  the  citizens  of  the  United 
States  as  a  place  of  deposit  for  property  sent  down  the  Mis 
sissippi,  for  a  definite  period  ;  no  change  in  relation  to  this 
place  of  deposit  took  place  until  October  16th,  1802  ;  but  on 
that  day,  Morales,  the  intendant  of  Louisiana,  issued  an  order 
putting  an  end  to  this  important  privilege  granted  to  the 
Americans.  This  led  to  instant  excitement  and  remonstrance, 
and  on  the  7th  of  January,  1803,  a  resolution  was  adopted  by 
the  House  of  Representatives,  affirming  "  their  unalterable  de 
termination  to  maintain  the  boundaries,  and  the  rights  of 
navigation  and  commerce  through  the  river  Mississippi,  as 
established  by  existing  treaties."2  But  this  act  of  the  intend 
ant  was  not  acquiesced  in  by  the  governor,  although  the  sus 
pension  continued  until  February  25th,  1803,  when  the  port 
was  opened  to  provisions  paying  a  duty  ;  and  in  April,  orders 
from  the  King  of  Spain  reached  the  United  States,  restoring 
the  right  of  deposit.3  In  January,  1803,  in  consequence  of 
this  act  of  Morales,  and  to  "  effectually  secure  our  rights  and  in 
terests  in  the  river  Mississippi  and  in  the  territories  eastward 
thereof,"  President  Jefferson  sent  a  message  to  the  Senate, 
nominating  Robert  R.  Livingston  and  James  Monroe,  ministers 
at  the  court  of  France,  and  Charles  Pinckney  and  James  Mon- 

1  See  Note  0.  2  American  State  Papers,  ii.  469,527,  &c.  3  Idem. 


218  HISTORY   OF   WISCONSIN. 

roe,  at  that  of  Spain,  with  full  powers  to  form  treaties  to 
effect  those  objects. 

At  this  time  the  government  had  intimation  that  in  some 
form,  a  treaty  was  on  the  carpet,  or  had  been  made,  by  which 
Spain  had  ceded  or  transferred  her  interest  in  Louisiana  to 
France.  In  November,  1801,  Rufus  King,  then  our  minister 
in  London,  sent  a  copy  of  the  treaty  signed  at  Madrid, 
March  21st,  1801,  by  which  the  Prince  of  Parma,  son-in-law 
of  the  Kinf  of  Spain,  was  established  in  Tuscany,  and  this  had 
been  the  consideration  for  the  grant  of  Louisiana  to  France, 
in  the  previous  autumn,  and  that  grant  was  now  confirmed. 

To  secure  the  interests  of  the  Union  in  relation  to  the  Mis 
sissippi  now  became  the  all-important  question,  and  the  sub 
ject  of  sagacious  diplomacy.  Our  ministers  were  instructed 
to  procure  a  cession  of  New  Orleans  and  the  Floridas  to  the 
United  States.  All  idea  of  purchasing  Louisiana  west  of  the 
Mississippi  had  been  disclaimed  by  President  Jefferson  up  to 
January,  1803.  On  the  10th  of  this  month,  however,  Mr. 
Livingston  proposed  to  the  minister  of  Napoleon  to  cede  to  the 
United  States,  not  only  New  Orleans  and  Florida,  but  also  all 
of  Louisiana  above  the  River  Arkansas.  But  such  were  not 
the  views  entertained  by  the  cabinet ;  on  the  2d  of  March,  the 
instructions  sent  to  Messrs.  Livingston  and  Monroe  gave  a 
plan  which  expressly  left  to  France  "all  her  territory  on  the 
west  side  of  the  Mississippi."  On  the  llth  of  April,  intima 
tions  in  conformity  with  this  plan  were  given  to  the  French 
ministry,  when  Talleyrand  suggested  the  cession  of  the  ivhoh 
French  domain  in  North  America,  and  asked  how  much  would  be 
given  for  it.  Mr.  Livingston  intimated  that  twenty  millions  of 
francs  might  be  a  fair  price ;  this  the  minister  of  Bonaparte  said 
was  too  low,  but  asked  the  American  to  think  of  the  matter.1 

In  an  interview  with  the  American  minister,  Napoleon 
frankly  confessed  his  inability  to  retain  Louisiana ;  it  was  a 
vast  province  sparsely  inhabited  and  utterly  unable  to  defend 
itself  against  the  formidable  power  of  the  British  navy,  by 

1  American  State  Papers,  ii.  521  to  552.     Marbois's  Louisiana. 


THE   NORTHWESTERN   TERRITORY.  219 

which  it  might  be  devastated  if  known  to  be  a  province  of 
Prance.  Bonaparto  declared  «  he  was  compelled  to  provide 
for  the  safety  of  Louisiana  before  it  should  como  into  his 
hands,  and  he  was  desirous  of  giving  the  United  States  a 
magnificent  bargain,  an  empire  for  a  mere  trifle."  He  inti 
mated  a  price  of  125  millions  of  Francs. 

On  the  12th  of  April,  Mr.  Monroe  arrived,  and  negotiations 
were  renewed  for  the  purchase  of  the  whole  of  the  vast  terri 
tory  upon  and  beyond  the  river  first  navigated  by  Marquette; 
the  treaty  was  arranged  on  the  30th  of  April ;  the  American 
Commissioners  had  gone  entirely  beyond  their  instructions, 
but  their  act,  although  unauthorized,  and  unexpected,  was  at 
once  agreed  to  by  the  President ;  Congress  was  summoned  to 
meet  on  the  17th  of  October,  when  the  treaty  was  laid  before 
the  Senate,  who  ratified  it  on  the  21st,  and  on  the  20th  of 
the  following  December  the  Province  of  Louisiana  was  offi 
cially  delivered  over  to  Governor  Cairborne,  of  Mississippi, 
and  General  Wilkinson,  who  were  empowered  to  assume  the 
government. 

The  terms  of  sale  as  finally  agreed  on  were,  that  the 
United  States  should  pay  sixty  millions  of  francs  in  stocks 
bearing  six  per  cent,  interest,  irredeemable  for  fifteen  years, 
afterward  to  be  discharged  in  three  equal  annual  instalments  ; 
the  interest  to  be  paid  in  Europe. 

To  this  transfer  of  Louisiana,  Spain  at  first  objected,  as 
she  alleged  on  "solid  grounds;"  but  early  in  1804  renounced 
her  opposition.1 

It  will  thus  be  seen,  that  beyond  the  approval  of  the  un 
looked-for  act  of  his  ministers  in  France,  Mr.  Jefferson  had 
no  agency  in  the  purchase  of  Louisiana :  if  any  person  de 
serves  to  be  remembered  in  connection  with  that  great  bar 
gain,  it  is  Mr.  Livingston,  whose  efforts  were  constant  and 
effectual.  The  person  through  whom  Mr.  Livingston  obtained 
the  ear  of  Napoleon,  was  Joseph  Bonaparte.2 

1  Am.  State  Papers,  vol.  ii.  553  to  583. 

2  Am.  State  Papers,  vol.  ii.  525,  533.     Perkins,  485. 


220  HISTORY   OF   WISCONSIN. 

Thus,  in  1803,  the  United  States  became  possessed  of  the 
great  valley  of  the  Mississippi,  to  the  exclusion  of  the  title 
of  any  foreign  power ;  limited  by  the  possessions  of  Spain,  in 
Mexico,  on  the  west  and  southwest,  and  in  the  Floridas,  on 
the  southeast:  the  Indian  title  to  the  lands  in  this  vast  region, 
abne  remained  to  be  extinguished.  During  the  time  the 
country  was  under  the  control  of  its  French  and  Spanish 
rulers,  very  many  extensive  and  valuable  grants  of  land  had 
been  made  to  individuals,  which,  for  a  long  series  of  years, 
became  the  subject  of  investigation  by  the  governmental  au 
thorities,  and  called  for  the  action  of  the  national  legislature, 
as  well  as  the  judicial  determination  of  the  high  courts  of  the 
Union.  Of  such  character  were  the  claims  of  the  Baron  de 
Bastrop,  the  Marquis  de  Maison  Rouge,  the  Baron  de  Ca- 
rondelet,  Julien  Dubuque,  and  a  host  of  others.  It  is  only 
since  the  year  1853  that  the  claim  of  the  latter  to  highly 
valuable  lands  in  the  State  of  Iowa  has  been  decided,  judi 
cially,  adverse  to  his  representatives. 

In  1796,  the  posts  in  the  northwest  were  evacuated  by  the 
British,  and  delivered  up  to  the  Americans  under  the  treaty 
stipulations.  The  Northwestern  Territory  then  contained  few 
white  settlements  beyond  the  boundaries  of  the  present  State 
of  Ohio,  within  which  was  the  seat  of  government  of  the  ter 
ritory;  the  present  State  of  Michigan  was  within  the  county 
of  Wayne ;  General  Arthur  St.  Clair  was  the  first  governor 
of  the  territory,  which  was  constituted  August  7th,  1789. 
On  the  7th  of  May,  1800,  the  territory  was  divided,  and  ex 
cluding  the  boundaries  of  Ohio,  as  then  defined,  the  new 
Territory  of  Indiana  embraced  all  the  remainder  of  the 
Northwestern  Territory,  including  on  the  east  side  of  the 
Mississippi,  the  present  States  of  Indiana,  Illinois,  Michigan, 
and  Wisconsin,  and  the  Territory  of  Minnesota ;  on  the  west 
side  of  the  river,  the  Rocky  Mountains  might  be  considered 
as  a  barrier,  but  the  Pacific  Ocean  alone  was  the  limit  of  the 
possessions  of  the  United  States. 


CHAPTER  V. 


INDIAN   DISTURBANCES. 

Principle  which  governs  European  title  in  America — Rights  of  original  in 
habitants — Rights  of  discoverers — Ultimate  dominion  over  the  Soil — Poli 
tical  condition  of  the  Indians — Review  of  the  character  of  Indian  treaties — 
General  Harrison  appointed  governor  of  Northwestern  Territory — His  first 
acts  in  treaties  with  the  Indians — The  Black  Sparrow-hawk— His  rank  and 
place  of  residence— Treaty  of  St.  Louis  of  1804 — Vast  territory  ceded — 
Afterward  confirmed — Fort  Madison  built — Jealousy  among  the  Sacs, 
Black  Hawk's  band — Attempts  to  surprise  Fort  Madison — Territory  of 
Michigan  erected — Governor  Hull — Fire  at  Detroit — New  town  laid  out — 
Lieutenant  Pike  ascends  the  Mississippi — Obtains  cessions  of  lands  from 
the  Indians — Prospect  of  Indian  disturbances — Tecumthe  and  the  Prophet — 
Black  Hawk — Indian  talk  of  Le  Marquois — Enterprise  and  efforts  of  Te 
cumthe  and  his  brother — They  attempt  to  deceive  Governor  Harrison— 
The  governor  prepares  for  emergencies — Indian  hostility  apparent — Black 
Hawk  urged  to  join  the  confederacy — War  parties  sent  out — Result  of 
their  acts — General  outbreak  expected — Tecumthe  assembles  a  hostile 
force— Harrison  convenes  a  council  of  Indians — Violent  conduct  of  Te 
cumthe — Governor  Harrison  assembles  an  army — Marches  to  the  Prophet's 
town — Indians  temporize  with  Harrison — He  encamps,  and  is  attacked  in 
the  night — Battle  of  Tippecanoe — All  the  Western  posts  and  settlements 
threatened— War  of  1812— Conduct  of  the  English  traders — Robert  Dick- 
eon,  his  great  influence — Predatory  warfare  of  the  Indians — Dickson  col 
lects  the  Indians  at  Green  Bay — Gives  Black  Hawk  the  command,  and 
sends  him  to  Detroit — Black  Hawk  remains  a  short  time  with  the  army, 
and  returns  to  the  Mississippi — News  of  the  declaration  of  war  does  not 
arrive  quickly  in  the  West — Disastrous  consequences — Mackinaw  surren 
ders — Surrender  of  Detroit — Fate  of  the  garrison  at  Chicago — Massacre  of 
Captain  Heald's  forces — Alleged  cause  of  Indian  vengeance — Events  of  the 
war  on  the  Mississippi — Fort  at  Prairie  du  Chien  repaired — Captured  by 
the  British  under  McKay — The  prisoners  sent  down  the  Mississippi — Indian. 

221 


222  HISTORY  OF  WISCONSIN. 

rage — Major  Campbell  ascends  the  river  from  St.  Louis — Is  attacked  by 
Black  Hawk ;  is  wounded  and  retreats  with  his  boats — British  send  can 
non  and  soldiers  to  Rock  Island — Major  Zachary  Taylor  ascends  the  river 
\rith  a  force — Great  body  of  Indians  at  Rock  Island — They  attack  Taylor, 
and  after  a  severe  fight  he  returns  down  the  river — Forts  Madison  and 
Johnson  burned — Peace  with  Great  Britain  and  consequent  peace  with  In 
dians  by  treaties — Fort  Armstrong  built  at  Rock  Island— Settlements  com 
mence  there — Keokuk  and  his  band  remove — Black  Hawk  remains — 
Illinois  about  to  be  admitted  as  a  State — Boundary  question — Increase  of 
white  settlements,  and  outrages  committed — Lead  trade  with  the  Indiana — 
Wisconsin  a  part  of  Michigan  Territory — Settlements  at  Green  Bay — In 
dian  jealousy — Winnebagoes  attack  a  party  of  Chippewas — Conduct  of 
American  commander  at  Fort  Snelling — Red  Bird's  resentment — Murdera 
near  Prairie  du  Chien — Red  Bird's  people  attack  two  boats  on  the  river — 
Great  excitement  in  the  mining  regions — General  Atkinson  ascends  the 
river  with  his  force — Red  Bird  and  other  Indians  surrender  themselves 
prisoners — General  outbreak  expected — Prompt  action  of  Atkinson  and  the 
volunteers  defeats  it — Indians  tried  at  Prairie  du  Chien — Convicted,  and 
pardoned — Red  Bird  dies  in  prison — Other  prisoners  discharged — Country 
begins  to  settle — New  disturbances  on  Rock  River — Black  Hawk  returns 
to  his  village  and  threatens  the  whites — Governor  Reynolds  declares  the 
State  invaded — Applies  for  assistance  to  General  Government — Raises 
volunteer  force — General  Gaines  with  United  States  troops  proceeds  up  th» 
river — Confers  with  the  Indians — Is  joined  by  the  Illinois  volunteers — 
They  take  possession  of  the  Sac  village,  and  Indians  cross  the  river — The 
village  destroyed — Treaty  at  Rock  Island — Reflections. 

AN  endeavour  has  thus  been  made  to  exhibit  an  outline  of 
events  that  occurred  in  the  valley  of  the  Mississippi  from  the 
time  of  its  first  discovery,  to  the  period  when  the  sovereignty 
over  it  belonged  to  the  United  States,  to  the  exclusion  of  the 
title  of  any  foreign  power.  A  proper  understanding  of  the 
early  history  of  any  portion  of  the  valley,  required  that  a 
view  should  be  taken  of  the  prominent  occurrences  which  in 
any  degree  affected  the  fortunes  of  the  whole  region  :  the 
space  which  has  been  allotted  to  such  view,  hitherto,  may  not, 
perhaps,  be  considered  unprofitable  or  improper.  Our  attention 
may  now  with  much  propriety  be  turned  to  the  more  imme 
diate  consideration  of  such  matters  as  pertain  to  the  history 
of  the  Northwestern  Territory,  as  organized  and  governed 
under  the  laws  of  the  United  States.  In  attempting  this  con- 


INDIAN   DISTURBANCES.  223 

sideration,  a  partial  review  of  occurrences  which  preceded 
the  formation  of  Wisconsin  into  a  distinct  and  separate  Terri 
tory  becomes  necessary. 

The  acquisition,  by  the  United  States,  of  the  exclusive  title 
to  the  vast  region  of  which  we  treat,  required  on  her  part 
the  recognition  and  elucidation  of  the  principle  which  has 
been  received  as  the  foundation  of  all  European  title  in 
America;  this  principle  was,  that  "discovery  gave  title  to 
the  government  by  whose  subjects,  or  by  whose  authority  it 
was  made,  against  all  other  European  governments ;  which 
title  might  be  consummated  by  possession."  The  exclusion 
of  all  other  Europeans  necessarily  gave  to  the  nation  making 
the  discovery,  the  sole  right  of  acquiring  the  soil  from  the 
natives,  and  establishing  settlements  upon  it.  It  was  a  right 
with  which  no  Europeans  could  interfere.  It  was  a  right 
which  all  asserted  for  themselves,  and  to  the  assertion  of 
which  by  others,  all  assented.  Those  relations  which  were 
to  exist  between  the  discoverer  and  the  natives,  were  to  be 
regulated  by  themselves.  The  rights  thus  acquired  being 
exclusive,  no  other  power  could  interpose  between  them. 

In  the  establishment  of  these  relations,  the  rights  of  the 
original  inhabitants  were  in  no  instance  entirely  disregarded, 
but  were  necessarily  to  a  considerable  extent  impaired.  They 
were  admitted  to  be  the  rightful  occupants  of  the  soil,  with  a 
legal  as  well  as  just  claim  to  retain  possession  of  it,  and  to 
use  it  according  to  their  own  discretion;  but  their  rights 
to  complete  sovereignty  as  independent  nations  were  neces 
sarily  diminished,  and  their  power  to  dispose  of  the  soil  at 
their  own  will,  to  whomsoever  they  pleased,  was  denied  by  the 
original  fundamental  principle  that  discovery  gave  exclusive 
right  to  those  who  made  it. 

While  the  different  nations  of  Europe  respected  the  right 
of  the  natives,  as  occupants,  they  asserted  the  ultimate  right 
to  be  in  themselves ;  and  claimed  and  exercised,  in  consequence 
of  this  ultimate  dominion,  a  power  to  grant  the  soil  while  yet 
in  possession  of  the  natives.  These  grants  have  been  under- 


224  HISTORY   OF   WISCONSIN. 

stood  by  all  to  convey  a  title  to  the  grantees,  subject  only  to 
the  Indian  right  of  occupancy.1 

The  United  States  have  unequivocally  acceded  to  that  great 
and  broad  rule  by  which  its  civilized  inhabitants  now  hold 
this  country.  They  hold  and  assert  in  themselves  the  title 
by  which  it  was  acquired.  They  maintain,  as  all  others  have 
maintained,  that  discovery  gave  an  exclusive  right  to  extin 
guish  the  Indian  title  of  occupancy,  either  by  purchase  or  by 
conquest ;  and  gave  also  a  right  to  such  a  degree  of  sove 
reignty  as  the  circumstances  of  the  people  would  allow  them 
to  exercise.2 

The  condition  of  the  Indians  in  relation  to  the  United 
States  is,  perhaps,  unlike  that  of  any  other  two  people  in  ex 
istence.  In  general,  nations  not  owing  a  common  allegiance, 
are  foreign  to  each  other.  The  term  foreign  nation,  is  with 
strict  propriety  applicable  by  either  to  the  other.  But  the 
relation  of  the  Indians  to  the  United  States  is  marked  by 
peculiar  and  cardinal  distinctions,  which  exist  nowhere  else. 
It  may  well  be  doubted  whether  those  tribes  which  reside 
within  the  acknowledged  boundaries  of  the  United  States  can 
with  strict  accuracy  be  denominated  foreign  nations.  They 
may  more  correctly,  perhaps,  be  denominated  domestic  de 
pendent  nations.  Their  relations  to  the  United  States 
resemble  that  of  a  ward  to  his  guardian.  They  look  to  our 
government  for  protection ;  rely  upon  its  kindness  and  its 
power;  appeal  to  it  for  relief  to  their  wants ;  and  address 
the  President  as  their  great  Father.  Nevertheless,  the  In 
dians  are  acknowledged  to  have  an  unquestionable,  and  here 
tofore  unquestioned  right  to  the  lands  they  occupy,  until  that 
right  shall  be  extinguished  by  a  voluntary  cession  to  the  go 
vernment.3  The  Indian  nations  have  always  been  considered 
as  distinct,  independent  political  communities,  retaining  their 
original,  natural  rights,  as  the  undisputed  possessors  of  the 
soil  from  time  immemorial:  the  term  "nation"  applied  to 


1 1  Ch.  Jus.  Marshall,  8  Wheaton,  543.  2  Idem. 

3  5  Peters's  Rep.  1. 


INDIAN   DISTURBANCES.  225 

them  means,  "a  people  distinct  from  others."  The  consti 
tution  of  the  United  States,  by  declaring  treaties  already 
made,  as  well  as  those  to  be  made,  to  be  the  supreme  law  of 
the  land,  has  adopted  and  sanctioned  the  previous  treaties 
with  the  Indian  nations,  and  consequently  admits  their  rank 
among  those  powers  who  are  capable  of  making  treaties.  The 
words  "treaty"  and  "nation"  are  words  of  our  own  lan 
guage,  selected  in  our  diplomatic  and  legislative  proceedings 
by  ourselves,  having  each  a  definite  and  well-understood 
meaning.  We  have  applied  them  to  Indians  as  we  have  ap 
plied  them  to  other  nations  of  the  earth.  They  are  applied 
to  all  in  the  same  sense.1 

The  several  treaties  which  had  been  made  between  com 
missioners  on  part  of  the  United  States  and  various  nations 
of  Indians,  previous  to  the  treaty  of  Greenville,  were  gene 
rally  restricted  in  their  objects  to  declarations  of  amity  and 
friendship;  the  establishing  and  confirming  of  boundaries;  the 
acknowledgment  of  the  protecting  power  of  the  United  States, 
and  no  other  sovereign ;  the  prohibition  of  settlement  on  In 
dian  lands ;  regulations  of  trade ;  and  small  cessions  of  land 
for  military  establishments.  In  a  few  of  those  treaties  small 
sums  of  money  are  given  to  the  Indians  as  presents,  and  some 
annuities  granted  in  consideration  of  former  cessions  of  land, 
but  no  sale  and  purchase  of  any  extensive  district  of  country 
seems  to  have  been  made  between  the  contracting  parties. 
The  second  article  of  the  treaty  of  January  31st,  1786,  is 
as  follows : — 

"The  Shawanee  nation  do  acknowledge  the  United  States 
to  be  the  sole  and  absolute  sovereigns  of  all  the  territory 
ceded  to  them  by  a  treaty  of  peace,  made  between  them  and 
the  King  of  Great  Britain,  the  fourteenth  day  of  January,  one 
thousand  seven  hundred  and  eighty-four." 

In  this,  as  in  all  other  of  the  like  treaties,  the  sovereignty 
is  recognised  on  the  one  side,  while,  by  the  several  res  trie- 


i  6  Peters,  515. 
Vol.  I.— 15 


226  HISTORY   OF   WISCONSIN. 

tions  contained  in  them,  the  right  of  occupancy  is  acknow 
ledged  on  the  other. 

The  treaty  of  Greenville,  made  August  3d,  1795,  contained 
the  relinquishment  of  the  Indian  title  to  particular  tracts  of 
land  in  different  quarters  of  the  Northwest,  for  which  a  valu 
able  consideration  was  paid  by  the  United  States ;  the  United 
States  also  relinquishing  their  claims  to  all  other  Indian  lands 
within  the  Northwestern  Territory,  with  a  few  exceptions 
named  in  the  treaty ;  herein  also  we  find  the  principle  of  ulti 
mate  sovereignty  and  present  occupancy  acknowledged  and 
acted  on. 

General  William  Henry  Harrison  was  appointed,  in  1801, 
the  governor  of  the  Northwestern  Territory,  and  we  find,  in 
September,  1802,  that  he  took  the  first  step  in  those  negotia 
tions  which,  in  their  continuance  through  so  many  after  years, 
contributed  so  much  to  the  dominions  of  the  United  States. 
At  Vincennes,  he  entered  into  an  agreement  with  various 
chiefs  of  the  Pottawatamie,  Eel  River,  Piankeshaw,  Wea, 
Kaskaskia,  and  Kickapoo  tribes,  by  which  were  settled  the 
bounds  of  a  tract  of  land  near  that  place,  said  to  have  been 
given  by  the  Indians  to  its  founder ;  certain  chiefs  were 
named  who  were  to  conclude  the  matter  at  Fort  Wayne.1 

Among  the  first  acts  of  Governor  Harrison  in  relation  to  the 
extinguishment  of  Indian  title  in  the  Northwest,  we  find  the 
treaty  of  August  13th,  1803 ;  by  which  the  Kaskaskia  tribe 
cede  to  the  United  States  all  their  lands  in  the  Illinois  coun 
try,  except  a  tract  of  three  hundred  and  fifty  acres  near  Kas 
kaskia,  and  a  right  to  locate  another  tract  of  twelve  hundred 
and  eighty  acres  in  Illinois,  for  a  money  consideration.  On 
the  18th  of  August,  1804,  Governor  Harrison  made  a  treaty 
with  the  Delaware  tribe,  by  which  the  said  tribe  relinquish  to 
the  United  States  all  their  title  to  the  country  between  the 
Ohio  and  Wabash  Rivers,  for  a  money  consideration.  On  the 
27th  of  August,  1804,  the  governor  also  obtained  the  relin 
quishment  of  title  by  the  Piankeshaws  to  the  same  country, 

1  Dawson's  Harrison,  27.     See  also  Note  A. 


INDIAN   DISTURBANCES.  227 

for  a  money  consideration.  But  his  most  important  treaty 
is  that  which  he  made  with  the  Sacs  and  Foxes,  as  it  not  only 
became  the  foundation  of  various  other  treaties  afterward 
made  with  the  Indians  of  the  Upper  Mississippi,  but  its  va 
lidity  being  denied  by  one  band  of  the  Sacs,  the  cession  of 
land  contained  in  its  provisions  became,  twenty-eight  years 
afterward,  the  alleged  cause  of  the  Black  Hawk  War. 

About  the  time  of  the  establishment  of  government  in  the 
Indiana  Territory,  Ma-ka-tai-me-she-kia-kiak,  the  "Black 
Sparrow-hawk,"  or  "Black  Hawk,"  as  he  is  generally  called, 
begins  to  appear  prominent  in  the  transactions  on  the  Upper 
Mississippi.  He  \vas  the  chief  of  a  band  of  the  Sacs,  and  his  vil 
lage  was  at  Rock  Island,  ;it  the  mouth  of  Rock  River.  To  this 
beautiful  and  fertile  spot  he  and  his  band  were  devotedly  at 
tached  ;  it  was  the  final  resting-place  of  their  forefathers,  arid  the 
site  of  their  own  comfortable  village,  surrounded  by  their  gar 
dens  and  cultivated  grounds.  Black  Hawk  was  not  the  great 
war-chief  of  the  Sacs  and  Foxes,  but  merely  the  chief  of  his 
own  band:  lie  had  always  been  opposed  to  the  cession  of  the 
Indian  lands  to  the  Americans,  and  most  particularly  denied 
the  validity  of  the  treaty  nvide  at  St.  Louis,  on  the  3d  of 
November,  180-1,  between  William  Henry  Harrison,  governor 
of  the  Indiana  Territory  and  of  tlio  District  of  Louisiana,  and 
the  united  tribes  of  Sac  and  Fox  Indians.1 

This  treaty  was  made  arid  signed  by  five  individuals  on 
part  of  the  Indians,  whose  power  to  cede,  sell,  or  grant  lands, 
or  whose  authority  to  make  any  treaty  whatever,  at  that  time, 
is  emphatically  denied  by  Black  Hawk  in  his  own  account  of 
this  important  transaction,2  but  such  denial  must  not  be  con- 
sid^red  as  conclusive  of  the  fact  alleged  by  him. 

The  boundaries  of  the  land  ceded  by  this  treaty  are  thus 
described: — "Beginning  at  a  point  on  the  Missouri  River 
opposite  the  mouth  of  the  Gasconade  River  ;  thence  in  a  direct 
course  so  as  to  strike  tho  river  Jeflfreon  at  the  distance  of 
thirty  miles  from  its  mouth;  and  down  the  said  Jeffreon  to 


« See  Note  B.  2  Doc.  Hist.  Black  Hawk  War. 


228  HISTORY  OF  WISCONSIN. 

the  Mississippi ;  thence  up  the  Mississippi  to  the  mouth  of 
the  Wisconsin  River ;  and  up  the  same  to  a  point  which  shall 
l>e  thirty-six  miles  in  a  direct  line  from  the  mouth  of  the  said 
river ;  thence  by  a  direct  line  to  the  point  where  the  Fox 
River,  (a  branch  of  the  Illinois,)  leaves  the  small  lake  called 
Bakaegan  ;  thence  down  the  Fox  River  to  the  Illinois  River, 
and  down  the  same  to  the  Mississippi.1 

The  consideration  in  money  to  be  paid  by  the  United 
States  bears  an  insignificant  proportion  to  the  immense  tract 
of  country  granted  by  the  treaty  ;  the  boundaries  embrace, 
it  is  said,  more  than  fifty-one  millions  of  acres;2  while  the 
purchase-money  is  u  goods  in  hand  to  the  amount  of  two 
thousand  two  hundred  and  fifty-four  dollars  and  fifty  cents, 
and  a  yearly  annuity  of  one  thousand  dollars,  of  which  six 
hundred  dollars  was  for  the  Sacs  and  four  hundred  dollars  for 
the  Foxes,  to  be  paid  in  goods  valued  at  first  cost." 

It  will  be  seen  that  within  the  boundaries  mentioned  in  this 
treaty  is  embraced  nearly  the  whole  of  the  present  State  of 
Wisconsin,  lying  south  of  the  Wisconsin  River  and  west  of 
the  Fox  River  of  the  Illinois;  also  a  great  portion  of  North 
ern  Illinois ;  and  considerable  portions  of  the  States  of  Iowa 
and  Missouri.  This  treaty  was  afterward  ratified  and  con 
firmed  by  a  treaty  made  at  St.  Louis,  on  the  13th  of  May, 
1816,  between  the  American  commissioners  and  the  chiefs 
and  warriors  of  the  Sacs  of  Rock  River  and  the  adjacent 
country :  to  this  latter  confirming  treaty  u  the  Black  Spar 
row-hawk"  "touched  the  quill;"  although  he  afterward 
alleged  that  he  was  ignorant  of  what  he  was  then  doing ;  in 
fact,  it  was  a  cession  of  his  own  village  and  the  lands  of  his 
tribe  to  the  United  States.3 

Soon  after  the  treaty  of  1804,  Fort  Madison  was  erected 
"by  the  United  States  troops,  within  the  ceded  territory,  and 
councils  were  held  among  the  Sacs,  particularly  Black  Hawk's 
band,  in  which  much  jealousy  was  expressed  as  to  the  inten- 


See  Note  C.  2  D.iwson's  Harrison,  59. 

3  Doc.  Hist.  Black  Hawk  War. 


INDIAN   DISTURBANCES.  229 

tions  of  the  Americans  in  thus  taking  an  armed  possession, 
of  the  country.  An  unsuccessful  attempt  was  made  at  one 
time  to  take  the  fort  by  the  stratagem  of  a  dancing  party 
of  Indians  endeavouring  to  enter  it,  in  the  same  manner  that 
the  ball-play  stratagem  was  practised  at  Mackinaw.  Had 
they  succeeded,  the  garrison  would  have  been  massacred  :  a 
reinforcement  from  St.  Louis  was  soon  afterward  received  at 
the  fort.1 

On  the  llth  of  January,  1805,  by  an  act  of  Congress,  the 
Territory  of  Michigan  was  erected,  and  separated  from  the 
Indiana  Territory,  with  William  Hull  as  its  first  governor.  In 
the  month  of  June  following,  a  most  destructive  fire  at  Detroit 
consumed  all  the  buildings  at  that  place,  both  public  and  pri 
vate  ;  and  the  first  act  of  the  governor  was  to  arrange  and 
settle  conflicting  claims  to  lots  of  land  within  the  precincts 
of  the  ruined  town,  and  to  survey  and  lay  out  the  site  of  a 
new  and  more  extensive  and  commodious  town,  embracing 
the  whole  of  the  old  one,  and  the  public  lands  adjacent :  the 
last  act  of  the  governor,  some  seven  years  subsequently,  was 
to  basely  surrender  the  town  and  its  fortress  to  a  British 
enemy,  without  so  much  as  striking  a  single  blow  in  its 
defence. 

On  the  9th  of  August,  1805,  Lieutenant  Zebulon  Pike  left 
St.  Louis  with  a  detachment  of  soldiers  under  the  orders  of 
gove.nment,  on  an  exploring  expedition  toward  the  head-wa 
ters  of  the  Mississippi.  He  passed  up  the  river  in  boats,  and 
conciliated  the  Indians  with  whom  he  met  on  his  expedition, 
and  at  the  same  time  impressed  them  with  a  knowledge  of 
the  power  and  strength  of  the  government  of  the  United 
States,  of  which  they  had  always  not  only  been  kept  in  igno 
rance  by  the  British  traders,  bat  against  which  their  inimical 
feelings  had  also  been  constantly  kept  in  a  state  of  excite 
ment.  On  the  23d  of  September,  Lieutenant  Pike  held  a 
council  with  the  chiefs  of  the  Mississippi  bands  at  St.  Peter's, 
and  obtained  a  grant  from  the  "  Little  Crow"  and  other 

1  Doc.  Hist.  Black  Hawk  War. 


230  HISTORY   OF   WISCONSIN. 

principal  chiefs,  of  one  hundred  thousand  acres  of  land,  for 
the  purpose  of  military  posts  at  St.  Peter's,  the  Falls  of  St. 
Anthony,  and  the  mouth  of  the  St.  Croix.1 

For  more  than  two  years  it  had  been  surmised  that  mis 
chief  was  gathering  among  the  tribes  of  the  Northwest;  some 
murders  by  the  Indians  had  taken  place  in  Indian  country, 
and  the  conviction  became  more  and  more  strong  at  the  close 
of  the  year  1806,  that  hostilities  were  in  meditation  on  an 
extensive  scale.  Two  chiefs  of  great  power  and  influence 
had,  it  is  believed,  for  some  years  been  exerting  both,  for 
two  purposes  ;  one  of  which  was  the  reformation  of  the  In 
dians,  whose  habits  unfitted  them  for  continuous  and  heroic 
effort,  and  the  other  was  such  a  union  of  the  tribes  as  would 
make  the  purchase  of  land  by  the  United  States  impossible, 
and  give  to  the  aborigines  a  strength  that  might  be  dreaded. 
Both  these  objects  were  avowed,  and  both  were  pursued  with 
wonderful  energy,  perseverance,  and  success  :  in  the  whole 
country  bordering  upon  the  lakes,  the  power  of  these  chiefs, 
Tecumthe,  and  his  brother,  the  Shawanese  Prophet,  was  felt, 
and  the  work  of  reformation  went  on  rapidly.2 

We  have  the  evidence  of  Black  Hawk  himself,  that  soon 
after  his  return  from  Fort  Madison,  runners  came  to  his  vil 
lage  from  the  Shawanese  Prophet,  (while  others  were  des 
patched  by  him  to  the  villages  of  the  Winnebagoes,)  with 
invitations  for  them  to  meet  him  on  the  Wabash,  which  was 
accordingly  done  by  a  party  from  each  village.3  This  was 
probably  about  the  year  1807,  as  at  this  time  a  talk  was 
industriously  circulated  among  the  tribes  of  the  Northwest, 
accompanied  with  belts  of  wampum.  The  object  of  the  great 
Manitou,  or  second  Adam,  undoubtedly  was  to  induce  a  gene 
ral  effort  to  rally  and  strike  a  desperate  blow  on  the  white 
settlements,  under  the  pretence  of  restoring  to  the  aborigines 
their  former  independence,  and  to  the  savage  character  its 
ancient  energies. 

1  Pike's  Exp.  27,  and  Append.  6. 

2  Drake's  Tecumseh,  88,  103.     Dawson's  Life  of  Harrison,  83,  90. 

3  Doc.  Hist.  Black  Hawk  War. 


INDIAN   DISTURBANCES.  231 

This  talk  was  delivered  at  Le  Maiouitinong,  entrance  of 
Lake  Michigan,  by  the  Indian  chief  Le  Marquois,  or  the 
Trout,  May  4th,  1807,  as  coming  from  the  first  man  whom 
God  created,  said  to  be  noiv  in  the  Shawanee  country,  ad 
dressed  to  all  the  Indian  tribes : — 

« I  am  the  Father  of  the  English,  of  the  French,  of  the 
Spaniards,  and  of  the  Indians.  I  created  the  first  man,  who 
was  the  common  Father  of  all  these  people,  as  well  as  your 
selves  ;  and  it  is  through  him  whom  I  have  awakened  from 
his  long  sleep,  that  I  now  address  you.  But  the  Americans 
I  did  not  make.  They  are  not  my  children,  but  the  children 
of  the  evil  spirit.  They  grew  from  the  scum  of  the  great 
water,  when  it  was  troubled  by  the  evil  spirit,  and  the  froth 
was  driven  into  the  woods  by  a  strong  east  wind.  They  are 
numerous,  but  I  hate  them. 

«  My  children,  you  must  not  speak  of  this  Talk  to  the 
whites.  It  must  be  hidden  from  them.  I  am  now  on  the 
earth,  sent  by  the  Great  Spirit  to  instruct  you.  Each  village 
must  send  me  two  or  more  principal  chiefs  to  represent  you, 
that  you  may  be  taught.  The  bearer  of  this  Talk  will  point 
out  to  you  the  path  to  rny  wigwam.  I  could  not  come  myself 
to  Arbre  Croche,  because  the  world  is  changed  from  what  it 
was.  It  is  broken  and  leans  down,  and  as  it  declines,  the 
Chippewas,  and  all  beyond,  will  fall  off  and  die.  Therefore 
you  must  come  to  see  me  and  be  instructed.  Those  villages 
which  do  not  listen  to  this  Talk  and  send  me  two  deputies, 
will  be  cut  off  from  the  face  of  the  earth."1 

From  this  time  forward  until  the  battle  of  Tippecanoe,  in 
1811,  Tecumthe  and  the  Prophet  continued  to  extend  their 
influence,  professing  no  other  end  than  a  reformation  of  the 
Indians.  They  had  removed  from  Greenville  to  the  banks 
of  the  Tippecanoe,  a  tributary  of  the  Upper  Wabash,  where 
a  tract  of  land  had  been  granted  them  by  the  Pottawatamies 
and  Kickapoos.  They  were  here  strengthening  themselves 
both  openly  and  secretly,  and  the  Prophet  once  sent  a  mes- 

i  Am.  State  Papers. 


232  HISTORY  OF  WISCONSIN. 

senger  to  Governor  Harrison,  begging  him  not  to  believe  the 
tales  told  by  his  enemies.  In  August,  1808,  he  paid  a  visit 
to  the  governor,  and  spent  two  weeks  at  Vincennes.  In  this 
visit,  his  words  and  promises  induced  Harrison  to  change  his 
opinion  of  him,  and  to  believe  that  his  influence  might  be 
beneficial  rather  than  mischievous.1  However,  the  governor 
had  been  led  more  and  more,  in  the  two  succeeding  years,  to 
suspect  the  ultimate  design  of  the  wily  brothers,  and  was 
preparing  to  meet  an  emergency  whenever  it  might  arise.2 
In  1810,  the  hostile  intentions  of  Tecumthe  and  his  followers 
toward  the  United  States  were  placed  beyond  a  doubt ;  the 
exciting  causes  were,  the  purchase  made  at  Fort  Wayne,  in 
1809,  from  the  Delawares,  Pottawatamies,  Miamis,  and  Eel 
River  tribes,  which  the  Shawanese  denounced  as  illegal  and 
unjust ;  and  the  ever-existing  British  influence. 

When  Black  Hawk's  delegation  returned  to  his  village,  a 
prophet  came  with  them,  who  industriously  kept  alive  his  feel 
ings  of  resentment  on  the  subject  of  the  Americans  depriving 
them  of  their  lands,  and  urged  him  to  join  the  confederacy 
on  the  Wabash,  as  in  case  he  did  not,  "  the  Americans  would 
take  his  very  village  from  him."  Black  Hawk,  however,  did 
not  join  him,  and  he  returned  to  the  Wabash,  where  a  party 
of  Winnebagoes  had  arrived,  and  preparations  were  made  for 
war.  A  battle  ensued,  in  which  several  Winnebagoes  were 
killed;  which,  as  soon  as  their  nation  heard  of,  they  started 
war  parties  in  different  directions,  one  to  the  mining  country, 
(Missouri,)  one  to  Prairie  du  Chien,  and  another  to  Fort 
Madison.  This  latter,  on  their  return  by  Black  Hawk's  vil 
lage,  exhibited  several  scalps  which  they  had  taken,  whereby 
other-parties  were  induced  to  go  against  the  fort.  On  the 
evening  of  Black  Hawk's  arrival  there,  a  reinforcement  of 
seventeen  men  had  also  arrived  from  St.  Louis,  in  a  keel- 
boat;  the  Indians  remained  three  days  in  the  vicinity,  not 
being  able,  as  Black  Hawk  says,  to  take  it  by  stratngem, 
although  he  set  it  on  fire  by  arrows,  but  it  was  soon  extin- 

i  Dawson,  107.     Drake's  Tecumsch,  104  to  109.  2  Dawson,  130. 


INDIAN   DISTURBANCES.  233 

guished.  His  ammunition  being  expended,  his  party  returned 
home,  having  killed  three  of  the  whites,  and  having  had  one 
Winnebago  killed  and  one  wounded.1 

The  Sacs  and  Foxes  appear  to  have  remained  compara 
tively  quiet  until  the  fall  of  1811,  when  a  general  outbreak 
was  expected  among  all  the  Indians  of  the  Northwest ;  infor 
mation  of  an  intended  attack  by  the  Sacs  and  Foxes,  on  the 
frontiers  of  Missouri,  was  sent  to  the  commanding  officer  at 
St.  Louis,  by  the  means  of  one  Antoine  de  Pense,  a  French 
man.  This  information  was  communicated  by  Thomas  For- 
syth,  who  had  been  Indian  agent  for  these  tribes  for  many 
years,  and  had  made  some  treaties  with  them.2 

In  the  mean  while  hostilities  appeared  ripe  for  commence 
ment  in  that  part  of  the  Northwest  known  as  the  Indiana 
Territory ;  here,  the  great  chief  Tecumthe,  who  had  always 
opposed  the  sale  and  cession  of  lands  to  the  United  States, 
and  who  contended  that  the  treaties  and  sales  were  null  and 
void,  and  as  such,  refused  to  permit  the  occupancy  of  the 
lands  by  the  whites,  had  assembled  a  large  force  of  chiefs 
and  warriors,  with  every  hostile  indication. 

Late  in  the  summer,  General  Harrison,  governor  of  the 
Indiana  Territory,  and  agent  for  Indian  affairs,  had  convened 
a  council  of  the  Indians  at  Vincennes  for  the  purpose  of 
friendly  negotiations;  but  owing  to  the  violence  and  impetu 
ous  insolence  of  Tecumthe,  no  arrangement  was  made,  and 
the  council  was  broken  up.  The  Federal  Government,  fearing 
the  worst  consequences  of  the  rashness  of  the  Indians,  con 
centrated  its  forces  in  the  neighbourhood  of  Vincennes,  and 
as  the  threatening  aspect  of  Indian  affairs  clearly  indicated 
immediate  hostilities,  Governor  Harrison  advanced  with  his 
army  toward  the  principal  Shawanees  towns  on  the  Wabash, 
near  the  outlet  of  Tippecanoe  creek. 

General  Harrison's  force  consisted  of  about  twelve  hundred 
men.  including  regulars,  militia,  and  mounted  volunteers.  His 

1  Doc.  Hist.  Black  Hawk  War. 

2  Am.  State  Papers. 


234  HISTORY   OF   WISCONSIN. 

object  was  to  demand  satisfactory  explanations  for  the  hostile 
appearances,  or  to  enforce  the  observance  of  existing  treaties 
by  force  of  arms.1 

On  the  6th  of  November,  1811,  the  troops  were  within  a 
few  miles  of  the  prophet's  town,  near  the  mouth  of  Tippe- 
canoe  Creek.  During  this  day's  march  the  Indians  hovered 
upon  the  flanks  and  in  front  of  the  army,  in  warlike  array, 
eluding  every  attempt  to  approach  them,  and  rejecting  all 
overtures  to  meet  in  council.  When  the  army  reached  within 
one  mile  of  the  Prophet's  town,  a  delegation  of  warriors  came 
to  General  Harrison,  and  proposed  to  meet  in  council  next 
morning.  Colonel  Boyd  urged  the  expediency  of  advancing 
immediately  upon  the  town,  to  take  possession  of  it,  and  to 
chastise  them  severely,  when  they  would  be  able  to  dictate 
the  terms  of  peace  on  their  own  ground.  He  knew  the  per 
fidious  character  of  the  savages,  and  was  unwilling  to  afford 
them  time  to  concert  means  of  defence,  or  to  mature  anj 
treacherous  designs.  But  General  Harrison  had  been  in 
structed  to  avoid  actual  hostilities  as  long  as  possible,  and  ho 
resolved  to  accede  to  the  proposition  for  holding  a  council 
with  them  on  the  next  day.  The  army  accordingly  halted, 
and  took  up  a  position  for  the  night  in  a  piece  of  woods  on 
the  margin  of  a  prairie.  The  troops  were  ordered  to  re 
pose  upon  their  arms,  with  a  numerous  guard  on  duty  within 
the  line  of  sentinels.  The  order  of  encampment  was  de 
signed  to  resist  any  sudden  attack  at  night,  so  far  as  their 
unprotected  situation  permitted.1 

In  this  condition  they  remained  undisturbed  until  about 
four  o'clock  next  morning,  November  7th,  when,  the  night 
being  cloudy,  and  drizzly,  the  Indians  made  their  attack  in 
that  part  of  the  camp  near  the  regular  troops.  They  had 
crept  on  their  hands  and  knees,  unobserved,  nearly  to  the 
sentinels,  whom  they  designed  to  kill  before  any  alarm  couid 
be  given  ;  but  they  were  discovered,  and  the  alarm  was  imrne- 
inediately  sounded.  The  Indians  sprang  to  their  feet,  gave 


Breckenridge's  Late  War,  24.  '  Ibid.  25. 


INDIAN   DISTURBANCES.  235 

the  terrible  war-whoop,  and  rushed  to  the  assault  with  the 
tomahawk,  against  the  advanced  guard  of  the  militia  on  the 
left  flank.  The  guard,  panic  stricken,  fled  in  confusion  upon 
the  regulars  under  Colonel  Boyd.  The  assault  was  first  re 
ceived  by  Captain  Barton's  company  of  infantry,  and  Cap 
tain  Guiger's  company  of  mounted  riflemen,  who  maintained 
their  position  with  great  firmness.  While  the  commander-in- 
chief  was  endeavouring  to  reinforce  this  point,  and  to  dis 
lodge  the  Indians  from  their  covert  by  means  of  the  cavalry, 
a  furious  attack  was  made  on  the  right  wing,  which  was  re 
ceived  by  two  companies  of  United  States  infantry  under 
Captains  Spencer  and  Warwick.  Captain  Spencer  and  all 
his  lieutenants  were  killed,  and  Captain  Warwick  was  mor 
tally  wounded.  This  line  was  strengthened  by  Captain 
Robb's  company,  which  maintained  its  position  with  great 
courage.  While  Governor  Harrison  was  bringing  up  this 
company,  his  aid,  Colonel  Owen,  was  killed  by  his  side. 
Colonel  Daviess,  of  Kentucky,  and  Colonel  White,  of  In 
diana,  were  killed  in  leading  a  charge  against  the  Indians  on 
the  left  flank. 

The  camp  fires  had  been  extinguished,  and  the  whole  army 
was  closely  engaged  in  the  action.  The  Indians,  concealed 
behind  logs  and  trees,  and  in  the  grass,  kept  up  an  incessant 
and  galling  fire  upon  the  compact  bodies  of  troops,  who  suf 
fered  severely  until  the  savages  were  routed  by  a  charge  of 
cavalry  led  on  by  Captain  Snelling. 

The  contest  was  now  maintained  with  great  valour  on  both 
sides,  and  on  every  part  of  the  field.  The  Indians  advanced 
and  retreated  alternately,  fighting  desperately,  and  with  a 
fury  seldom  seen  or  equalled.  Their  yells,  and  the  terrific 
rattling  of  deer  hoofs  and  Indian  drums,  served  to  render 
the  scene  one  of  the  most  fearful  import.  Such  it  continued 
until  about  daybreak,  when  several  companies  were  ordered 
to  charge  simultaneously  from  the  right  and  left  wings  upon 
the  enemy,  aided  by  such  of  the  dragoons  as  could  be 
mounted.  The  savages  fled  in  every  direction,  and  were  pur 
sued  by  the  horsemen  into  the  wood  as  far  as  they  could 


236  HISTORY  OF  WISCONSIN. 

proceed.  Thus  terminated  this  sanguinary  and  unfortunate 
battle.1 

According  to  the  official  return,  the  loss  of  the  Americana 
in  this  engagement  was  87  killed  on  the  field,  25  mortally 
wounded,  and  126  wounded  :  that  of  the  Indians,  about  40 
killed  on  the  spot,  the  number  of  wounded  being  unknown.3 

In  this  battle  the  Americans  had  not  more  than  700  effi 
cient  men,  non-commissioned  officers  and  privates:  the  In 
dians  are  believed  to  have  had  at  least  600,  and  the  estimate 
has  been  made  at  from  800  to  1000  warriors.3  This  was  the 
first  blood  spilt  under  public  authority  since  the  pacification 
of  Greenville,  in  August,  1795 :  it  was  the  beginning  of  the 
war  declared  against  Great  Britain,  in  the  month  of  June 
following.  The  Indian  tribes  inhabiting  the  country  south 
and  west  of  the  great  lakes  immediately  flew  to  arms,  and 
sought  the  aid  of  their  allies,  the  English,  in  Canada.  They 
had  previously  received  assurance  of  aid  from  Great  Britain 
in  case  of  hostilities,  and  they  now  began  to  threaten  all  the 
American  border  population,  and  posts  in  the  Michigan,  In 
diana,  and  Illinois  Territories,  as  well  as  the  northwestern 
confines  of  New  York,  Pennsylvania,  and  Ohio. 

Previous  to  the  war  of  1812,  the  English  traders  in  the 
Northwest  were  always  active,  whenever  an  occasion  offered, 
in  exciting  the  Indians  against  the  American  population,  and 
most  especially  against  the  American  traders.  It  can  scarcely 
be  supposed  that  this  system  of  studied  animosity  had  its 
source  merely  in  the  desire  to  prevent  competition  in  the 
commerce  with  the  Indians  on  the  part  of  the  traders  :  it  is 
a  reasonable  conclusion,  founded  on  indubitable  facts,  that  it 
was  the  policy  of  the  British  government,  in  keeping  alive 
the  bitter  feelings  of  the  Indians  against  the  Americans,  to 
effect  desired  hostile  results,  through  the  means  of  such  in 
fluential  agents  as  the  traders  always  were,  without  commit- 


»  Breckenridge,  2G.     Drake's  Book  of  Indians,  103. 

2  Am.  State  Paper?,  v.  779. 

«  Am.  State  Papers,  vol.  v.  778.     Dawson,  216.     Drake's  Tecumthe,  152. 


INDIAN   DISTURBANCES.  237 

ting  the  nation  in  its  peaceable  relations  with  our  government, 
in  an  open  and  undisguised  manner. 

Among  these  traders  was  a  talented  Englishman  who  re 
sided  at  Prairie  du  Chien,  named  Robert  Dickson  ;  he  was  a 
man  of  probity  and  of  honourable  conduct  in  his  relations  in 
life,  and  possessed  great  influence  over  the  Indians  of  the 
Northwest.  He  had  prepared,  it  is  believed,  between  three 
and  four  thousand  warriors,  in  the  year  1811,  ready  to  attack 
the  frontiers  of  Illinois  and  Missouri ;  but  these  warriors  were 
more  needed  in  the  early  part  of  the  year  1812,  in  Canada, 
and  the  West  was  probably  thus  saved.  Dickson  was  un 
questionably  acting  in  concert  with  Tecumthe,  the  one  in  the 
North  and  the  other  in  the  South.  Some  few  murders  in  the 
families  of  frontier  settlers  were  committed  by  the  Indians 
before  war  was  declared,  particularly  in  Illinois,  and  we  find 
by  information  communicated  to  the  secretary  of  war,  among 
other  depredations,  that  on  the  first  of  January,  1812,  a 
party  of  Puants  (Winnebagoes)  arrived  at  the  house  of  Mr. 
George  Hunt,  at  the  Lead  Mines,  (Missouri,)  killed  two 
Americans,  and  robbed  Mr.  Hunt  of  all  his  goods.  This  was 
at  Fort  Madison,  on  the  Mississippi ;  the  Foxes  at  this  time 
promised  to  be  friends  to  the  Americans,  and  also  promised 
to  save  all  Mr.  Hunt's  goods  that  they  could.  Hunt's  life 
was  saved  by  being  considered  an  Englishman.  The  Puants 
also  killed  a  Mr.  Pryor,  and  several  others,  at  the  same  time, 
and  the  chief  observed  that  the  Americans  had  killed  a  great 
many  of  their  people,  and  that  they  intended  to  kill  all  thej 
saw.  At  this  time,  war  parties  were  looked  for  every  hour 
by  the  white  inhabitants  on  the  Mississippi,  and  the  universal 
impression  was  that  a  general  outbreak  of  the  Indians  would 
take  place.1 

Soon  after  the  declaration  of  war,  in  June,  1812,  Colonel 
Dickson,  the  English  trader  and  agent,  collected  a  consider 
able  body  of  Indians  at  Green  Bay,  for  the  purpose  of  ren 
dering  assistance  to  the  British  forces  in  their  operations  on 

>  Am.  State  Papers. 


238  HISTORY   OF   WISCONSIN. 

the  great  lakes  and  in  the  Northwest.  These  Indians  were 
principally  Pottawatamies,  Kickapoos,  Ottawas,  and  Winne- 
bagoes ;  to  them  \vas  added  Black  Hawk's  band,  composed  of 
two  hundred  Sac  warriors,  who  had  been  specially  sent  for  by 
Dickson,  and  whose  leader  was  made  commander- in-chief  of 
all  the  Indians  who  then  were  at  Green  Bay.  A  silk  flag, 
medal,  and  written  certificate  of  good  behaviour  and  attach 
ment  to  the  British,  were  then  given  by  Dickson  to  Black 
Hawk,  who  was  also  complimented  with  the  nominal  rank  of 
a  brigadier-general  in  his  majesty's  service.1  This  certifi 
cate  was  found,  at  the  battle  of  Bad  Axe,  twenty  years  after 
ward,  having  been  carefully  preserved  by  its  owner,  and  a 
British  flag  was  also  found  there,  in  all  probability  the  same 
here  spoken  of. 

Black  Hawk  was  ordered  to  march  with  the  Indian  force  to 
Detroit,  but  he  wished  to  wage  war  on  the  Western  settlements. 
It  shows  an  honourable  trait  in  Dickson 's  character,  that  he 
told  him,  this  must  not  be;  for  he  said,  "he  had  been  ordered 
to  lay  the  country  waste  around  St.  Louis  ;  that  he  had  been 
a  trader  on  the  Mississippi  many  years ;  had  always  been 
kindly  treated ;  and  could  not  consent  to  send  brave  men  to 
murder  women  and  children.  That  there  were  no  soldiers 
there  to  fight ;  but  where  he  was  going  to  send  the  Indians, 
there  were  a  number  of  soldiers,  arid  if  they  defeated  them, 
the  Mississippi  country  should  be  given  up  to  them."2 

The  next  day,  arms,  ammunition,  and  clothing  were  given 
by  Dickson  to  the  Sacs,  and  after  a  great  feast  in  the  evening, 
Black  Hawk  started  the  following  morning  with  about  five 
hundred  Indians  to  join  the  British  army.  On  their  route 
they  passed  Chicago,  which  had  been  evacuated  and  the  fort 
destroyed :  the  garrison  left  the  post  on  the  15th  of  August, 
but  were  attacked  by  the  Pottawatamies,  within  a  mile  and 
a  half  of  the  fort,  and  two-thirds  of  them,  being  from  fifty  to 
sixty  were  immediately  massacred.  One  of  the  reasons  for 
this  murderous  act,  and  perhaps  the  true  one,  is  given  by 

i  Doc.  Hist.  Black  Hawk  War.  2  Idem. 


INDIAN   DISTURBANCES.  239 

Black  Hawk:  he  says,  "They  had  a  considerable  quantity  of 
powder  in  the  Fort  at  Chicago,  which  they  had  promised  to 
the  Indians,  but  the  night  before  they  marched  they  destroyed 
it.  I  think  it  was  thrown  into  the  well ;  if  they  had  fulfilled 
their  word  to  the  Indians,  I  think  they  would  have  gone  safe."1 

Black  Hawk  was  present  during  several  of  the  operations 
of  General  Proctor  on  the  borders  of  Lake  Erie,  but  soon 
returned  to  his  home  at  Rock  Island,  and  found  that  Keokuk 
had  been  made  a  war-chief  in  his  absence.2  Henceforward 
his  opposition  was  directed  against  the  American  settlements 
on  the  Mississippi.3 

The  declaration  of  war  on  part  of  the  United  States  against 
Great  Britain  was  made  by  act  of  Congress  on  the  18th  of 
June,  1812.  On  the  next  day,  proclamation  of  the  contest 
was  made.  By  some  unaccountable  neglect  or  mismanagement 
on  the  part  of  the  officers  of  government,  the  information  of 
this  important  event  did  not  reach  the  Northwestern  posts 
until  some  days  after  the  British  authorities  in  this  region  had 
full  notice  of  the  fact,  and  were  enabled  to  act  accordingly. 
Without  commenting  here  upon  what  appears  to  be  egregious 
blundering,  or  reprehensible  omissions  of  duty  on  part  of  the 
officers  of  the  General  Government,  it  may  suffice  as  a  general 
matter  pertaining  to  the  history  of  this  portion  of  the  North 
west,  merely  to  advert  to  the  following  facts. 

On  the  day  preceding  the  proclamation,  Congress  having 
passed  the  needful  act,  the  secretary  of  war  wrote  to  General 
Hull  one  letter  saying  nothing  of  the  matter,  and  sent  it  by 
a  special  messenger;  and  a  second,  containing  the  vital  news, 
which  he  confided  to  a  half-organized  post  as  far  as  Cleveland, 
and  thence  literally  to  accident.  While  the  general  of  the 
Northwestern  army  was  thus  not  uninformed  merely,  he  had 
been  actually  misled.  On  the  24th  of  June,  advices  from  the 
secretary  of  war  dated  on  the  18th  came  to  hand,  but  not  a 
word  contained  in  them  made  it  probable  that  the  long  ex 
pected  war  would  be  immediately  declared.  Colonel  McArthur 

1  Doc.  Hist  Black  Hawk  War.  2  Idem.  s  See  Note  D. 


240  HISTORY   OF   WISCONSIN. 

at  the  same  time  received  word  from  Chillicothe,  warning  him, 
on  the  authority  of  Senator  Worthington  of  Ohio,  that  before 
the  letter  reached  him,  the  declaration  of  war  would  be  made 
public.  This  information  McArthur  laid  before  Hull,  then 
on  his  way  to  Detroit ;  and  when  that  commander  proposed, 
at  the  Maumee,  to  place  his  baggage,  stores,  and  sick  on  board 
a  vessel,  and  send  them  by  water  to  Detroit,  McArthur  warned 
him  of  the  danger  and  refused  to  trust  his  own  property  ou 
board.  Hull  refused  to  believe  it  possible  that  the  Government 
would  not  give  him  information  at  the  earliest  moment  that 
the  measure  of  war  was  resolved  on.  He  accordingly  on  the 
first  of  July  embarked  his  disabled  men  and  most  of  his  goods 
on  board  the  Cuyahoga  packet,  suffering  his  aid-de-camp  in 
his  carelessness  to  send  by  her  even  his  instructions  and  army 
roll,  and  then  proceeded  on  his  way.  The  next  day,  July  2d, 
a  letter  of  the  same  date  with  that  received  on  the  24th  of 
June  reached  him,  and  apprized  him  that  the  declaration  of 
war  was  indeed,  on  that  day  made ;  and  before  his  astonish 
ment  was  over,  word  was  brought  of  the  capture  of  his  packet 
off  Maiden  with  all  his  official  papers.  Nor  is  this  all :  letters 
franked  by  the  secretary  of  the  treasury  of  the  United  States 
bore  the  notice  of  what  had  been  done,  to  the  British  post  of 
St.  Joseph  near  the  northwestern  shore  of  Lake  Huron,  and 
also  to  Maiden,  which  place  it  reached  on  the  28th  of  June.1 
It  may  well  be  supposed  that  Lieutenant  Hanks,  who  com 
manded  the  post  at  Mackinaw,  would  not  be  better  treated  in 
the  matter  of  timely  notice  of  the  declaration  of  war  than 
was  General  Hull.  The  British  commander  at  St.  Joseph,  on 
the  receipt  of  his  friendly  communication,  franked  as  we  have 
observed  by  the  American  secretary  of  the  treasury,  lost  no 
time,  but  on  the  17th  of  July,  with  a  force  of  British,  Cana 
dians,  and  savages,  numbering  in  all  1021,  made  an  attack  on 
Fort  Mackinaw,  the  key  of  the  northern  lakes.  Lieutenant 
Hanks  having  received  no  notice  of  war  from  any  source,  and 
the  garrison  amounting  to  but  fifty-seven  effective  men,  felt 

1  Perkins,  526,  and  authorities  cited.     Hull's  Defence,  passim. 


INDIAN   DISTURBANCES.  241 

unable  to  withstand  so  formidable  a  body,  and  to  avoid  the 
constantly  threatened  Indian  massacre,  surrendered  as  pri~ 
Boners  of  war,  and  were  dismissed  on  parole.1 

The  crowing  misfortune  that  befell  the  American  cause,  in 
this  quarter  of  the  seat  of  war,  at  this  time,  was  the  unparal 
leled  act  of  the  surrender  of  General  Hull.  The  accounts 
of  the  several  field-officers  and  others,  of  the  whole  of  this 
disgraceful  affair,  the  evidence  produced  on  the  subsequent 
trial  of  the  general,  on  the  accusation  of  treason  and  cowardice, 
and  his  own  defence  before  the  court  martial,  form  a  history 
of  its  own.  It  is  enough  here  to  say,  that  on  the  16th  of 
August,  1812,  General  William  Hull,  governor  and  general, 
•without  a  blow  struck,  crowned  his  course  of  indecision  and 
unmanly  fear,  by  surrendering  the  town  of  Detroit,  and  Terri 
tory  of  Michigan,  together  with  fourteen  hundred  brave  men 
longing  for  battle,  to  three  hundred  English  soldiers,  four 
hundred  Canadian  militia  disguised  in  red  coats,  and  a  band 
of  Indian  allies.2 

Hull  was  afterward  tried  by  a  court  martial,  charged  with 
acts  of  treason  and  cowardice  ;  he  was  acquitted  of  the  former 
and  found  guilty  of  the  latter  ;  sentenced  to  be  shot ;  and 
afterward  was  pardoned  by  the  President  of  the  United 
States,  but  exiled  from  all  military  command. 

The  garrison  of  Fort  Dearborn  at  Chicago  had  an  unfortu 
nate  fate.  General  Hull  had  informed  Captain  Heald  the 
commander  of  that  post,  of  the  loss  of  Mackinaw,  and  directed 
liitn  to  distribute  his  stores  among  the  Indians  and  retire  to 
Fort  Wayne.  Heald  proceeded  to  do  this,  but  it  was  sooa 
evident  that  the  neighbouring  savages  were  not  to  be  trusted, 
and  he,  in  con  -equence,  determined  not  to  give  them  what  they 
most  of  all  wanted,  the  spirit  and  powder  in  the  fortress;  these 
articles  he  destroyed,  and  the  Indians  having  learned  the  fact, 
it  was  this,  as  Black  Hawk  asserted,  which  led  to  the  subse 
quent  catastrophe.  The  orders  to  evacuate  the  post  were 
received  on  the  9th  of  August,  and  on  the  15th  the  garrison. 


ilVrkins.     McAfee,  72.     See  Note  E.  *  Perkins,  529 

Vol.  L— Iti 


HISTORY   OF   WISCONSIN. 

marched  out,  and  had  proceeded  on  their  way,  along  the  lake 
shore,  little  more  than  a  mile,  when  they  were  attacked  by  the 
Pottawatamies  under  their  chief,  Black  Bird.  Captain  Heald 
'was  escorted  by  a  guard  of  about  thirty  Miamis,  under  the 
command  of  Captain  Wells,  who  had  been  sent  from  Fort 
Wayne  for  that  purpose.  The  force  of  Captain  Heald  was 
only  fifty-four  regulars  and  twelve  militia  ;  the  Indian  enemy 
numbered  between  four  and  five  hundred.  In  a  short  conflict, 
more  than  half  of  Captain  Heald's  force  was  killed,  and  he 
surrendered  to  Black  Bird  under  promise  that  the  lives  of  the 
prisoners  should  be  spared.  Captain  Wells  and  other  officers 
were  killed ;  Captain  Heald  and  his  wife  were  severely  wounded ; 
two  women  and  twelve  children  wTere  killed  in  the  fight,  in 
addition  to  twenty-six  of  the  regulars,  and  all  of  the  militia. 

The  prisoners  were  taken  back  to  Fort  Dearborn,  which  the 
Indians  burned  the  next  day,  and  then  left  the  place,  taking 
\yith  them  the  prisoners,  who  had  been  distributed  among  the 
different  tribes :  Captain  Heald  and  his  wife  were  taken  to  the 
iiouse  of  an  Indian  trader,  where  they  remained  some  time, 
and  finally  reached  Detroit.1 

During  the  continuance  of  the  war  with  Great  Britain, 
Wisconsin  presented  but  a  small  theatre  for  action ;  neverthe 
less  the  protection  of  this  part  of  our  frontiers  was  considered 
of  as  great  importance  to  ourselves  as  its  possession  was  to 
the  British.  Early  in  1814,  the  government  authorities  at  St. 
Louis  had  fitted  out  a  large  boat,  having  on  board  all  the  men 
that  could  be  mustered  and  spared  from  the  lower  country, 
&nd  despatched  it  up  the  Mississippi,  to  protect  the  upper 
country,  and  the  few  settlers  that  were  then  in  it.  This  boat 
reached  Prairie  du  Chien,  and  immediately  on  their  arrival, 
the  men  commenced  the  work  of  putting  the  old  fort  in  a 
state  of  defence,  by  repairing  the  outworks  and  fortifying  it 
in  the  best  manner  they  were  able.  Not  long  after  they  had 
taken  possession  of  it,  Colonel  McKay,  of  the  British  army, 
descended  the  Wisconsin  with  a  large  force  of  British  and  In- 

1  Niles's  Register,  iii.  155.     See  Note  F. 


INDIAN   DISTURBANCES.  243 

dians :  they  had  reached  Green  Bay  after  the  surrender  of 
Mackinaw  and  Detroit,  and  had  been  piloted  up  the  Fox  River, 
as  is  generally  well  understood,  by  Joseph  Rolette,  afterward 
of  Prairie  du  Chien.  The  fort  was  captured,  after  a  deter 
mined  resistance  against  an  overwhelming  force,  and  the  utmost 
exertions  of  Colonel  McKay  were  required  to  prevent  an  indis 
criminate  massacre  of  the  Americans  by  the  infuriated  Indians. 
The  lives  of  the  prisoners  were  for  some  time  in  the  most 
imminent  danger,  as  the  exertions  of  Colonel  McKay  in  behalf 
of  humanity  were  doubtful  in  their  result.  At  length,  after 
repeated  and  forcible  remonstrances  with  the  Indians,  the 
colonel  succeeded  in  getting  the  prisoners  on  board  of  the 
large  boat  which  had  brought  the  soldiers  up  the  Mississippi, 
and  she  proceeded  down  the  river.  Apprehensive  of  danger, 
the  colonel  despatched  some  of  his  own  force  to  protect  the 
boat ;  and  even  then  the  Indians  followed  it,  as  if  they  had 
determined  never  to  relinquish  a  prey  which  they  saw  thus 
rescued  from  their  grasp.  The  boat  passed  Rock  Island  in 
safety,  and  in  fact  the  pursuit  by  the  Indians  was  abandoned 
when  the  boat  reached  the  head  of  the  rapids. 

In  the  mean  time,  Major  Campbell  had  ascended  the  river 
from  St.  Louis,  with  a  squadron  of  boats  and  a  detachment 
of  United  States  troops,  for  the  purpose  of  reinforcing  the 
garrison  at  Prairie  du  Chien.  When  he  arrived  at  Rock  Is 
land,  he  held  some  communication  with  Black  Hawk,  who  was 
apparently  neutral,  at  least  not  openly  inimical ;  but  a  party 
of  Indians  came  down  Rock  River  with  the  news  that  Prairie 
du  Chien  had  been  captured,  and  as  the  boats  of  Major  Camp 
bell  had  by  this  time  departed,  they  were  immediately  pursued 
by  Black  Hawk's  band,  and  a  severe  fight  took  place,  in  which 
the  Indians  captured  one  of  the  boats,  and  Major  Campbell 
himself  was  wounded;  the  expedition  returned  down  the 
river,  having  lost  several  men  killed,  and  others  wounded  in 
this  fight.1 

Some  short  time  after  this  event,  the  British  commander  at 

»  Doc.  Hist.  Black  Hawk  War. 


244  HISTORY  OF   WISCONSIN. 

Prairie  du  Chien,  then  called  Fort  McKa}%  descended  the 
river  to  Rock  Island,  bringing  with  him  two  field-pieces  and 
a  detachment  of  soldiers:  these  he  placed  in  position  to  pre 
vent,  or  at  least  annoy  any  force  that  might  attempt  to  pass 
up  the  river. 

On  the  3d  of  August,  1814,  an  expedition  of  some  three 
hundred  men,  under  the  command  of  Major  Zachary  Taylor, 
left  St.  Louis  in  hoats,  for  the  Upper  Mississippi.  When  they 
arrived  at  Rock  Island,  they  found  the  British  there  apparently 
in  force,  with  a  battery  on  shore,  two  field-pieces,  and  at  least 
one  thousand  Indians,  the  greater  part  of  whom  were  on  the 
right  bank  of  the  river,  while  the  large  guns  and  battery  were 
on  the  left  bank.  A  severe  fight  took  place,  but  after  sus 
taining  a  loss  of  several  killed  and  wounded,  the  American 
force  returned  down  the  river:  on  their  way  to  St.  Louis  they 
burned  Fort  Madison  and  Fort  Johnson.1 

There  was  little  of  general  interest  that  transpired  after 
this  time,  in  the  Mississippi  country,  until  after  the  peace  of 
1815.  When  this  event  was  made  known  to  the  Indian  tribes, 
many  were  willing  and  eager  to  make  treaties  of  peace  and 
friendship  with  the  United  States,  and  Black  Hawk  and  his 
band  were  particularly  urged  to  such  a  measure  by  all  their 
friends.  Several  treaties  were  entered  into  at  the  Portage 
des  Sioux  in  1815,  between  the  United  States  commissioners 
and  various  bands  of  Indians ;  and  in  May,  1816,  by  the  Treaty 
of  St.  Louis,  Black  Hawk  confirmed  the  treaty  of  1804, 
thereby  effectually  ceding  the  lands  on  Rock  River  on  which 
his  village  was  located. 

About  this  time,  1816,  United  States  troops  arrived  at 
Rock  Island  and  commenced  the  construction  of  Fort  Arm 
strong,  and  a  few  settlers  soon  followed,  who  commenced 
making  their  improvements,  although  the  Indians  had  not  yet 
removed  from  this  vicinity.  It  is  true  that  Keokuk,  and  that 
portion  of  the  Sacs  and  Foxes  termed  the  American,  or 
friendly  band,  had  already  removed  to  the  west  side  of  the 

1  Idem.  Shaw's  Narrative. 


INDIAN   DISTURBANCES.  245 

Mississippi :  it  is  also  true  that  Kcokuk  had  ^repeatedly,  al 
though  ineffectually,  urged  Black  Hawk  to  remove  his  people 
to  the  west  side  of  the  river ;  his  refusal  to  comply  with  such 
advice  became  daily  more  and  more  productive  of  ill  conse 
quences,  as  the  restoration  of  peace  with  Great  Britain  and 
the  Indians,  and  the  contemplated  admission  of  Illinois  into 
the  Union  as  a  State,  caused  the  Indian  country  to  be  imme 
diately  overspread  by  white  people. 

The  Territory  of  Illinois  was  erected  into  an  independent 
State,  by  act  of  Congress,  in  April,  1818,  and  its  northern 
boundary  was  extended  to  the  parallel  of  42°  30'  north  lati 
tude.  This  line  was  far  north  of  the  line  designated  by  the 
ordinance  of  1787,  and  in  subsequent  times  gave  rise  to 
much  legislative  controversy,  and  conflict  of  jurisdiction 
among  constituted  authorities.  It  may  well  be  doubted 
•whether  the  power  of  Congress,  in  the  case  of  the  boundary 
question  between  the  States  of  Ohio  and  Michigan,  and  the 
settlement  of  boundary  of  the  fifth  State,  (Wisconsin,)  has 
not  been  exerted  in  defiance  of  right,  and  in  direct  contra 
vention  of  the  spirit  and  letter  of  the  ordinance  of  1787. l 

The  settlements  of  the  whites  continued  to  increase  in  the 
Indian  country,  and  doubtless  many  outrages  were  committed 
by  them  on  the  persons  and  eifects  of  the  Indians,  in  order 
to  hasten  their  voluntary  departure  from  the  country  which 
they  had  ceded  to  the  United  States,  and  in  which  already 
government  surveys  had  been  made,  and  certificates  of  land 
entries  had  been  issued ;  but  these  matters  did  not  extend  in 
any  objectionable  manner  beyond  the  northern  boundary  of 
the  State  of  Illinois.  In  1818,  a  grist-mill  was  built  at 
Fisher's  Coulee,  at  Prairie  du  Chien ;  and  in  the  following 
year  a  saw-mill  was  built  on  Black  River :  these  appear  to 
be  the  first  structures  of  the  kind  erected  in  Western  Wis 
consin.  They  were  both  constructed  by  Mr.  John  Shaw,  now 
of  Marquette  county. 

Immediately  after  the  peace  of  1815,  a  lucrative  trade  was 

1  Doc.  Hist.  Boundary  Question.     Note  G. 


246  HISTORY   OF   WISCONSIN. 

carried  on  between  the  merchants  of  St.  Louis  and  the 
traders  and  Indians  of  the  Upper  Mississippi.  Goods  were 
periodically  sent  up  the  river  to  the  traders,  who  in  return 
transmitted  in  payment,  by  the  same  boats,  peltries  and  lead. 
The  lead  was  smelted  by  the  Indians  at  their  primitive  fur 
naces;  and  crude  as  was  their  mode  of  manufacturing  the 
ore  into  a  merchantable  commodity,  they  were  exceedingly 
jealous  of  permitting  the  whites  to  see  the  process,  or  even 
to  approach  the  vicinity  of  the  lead-mines.  This  jealousy, 
however,  extended  only  toward  the  Americans,  as  French 
men  had  unlimited  privileges  of  intercourse  and  trade 
among  the  Indians.  In  the  period  between  1815  and  1820, 
Mr.  Shaw  made  eight  trips  in  a  trading-boat,  from  St.  Louis 
to  Prairie  du  Chien,  and  visited  the  lead-mines  where  the 
city  of  Galena  is  now  situate.  Here  the  Indians  had  about 
twenty  furnaces,  and  Mr.  Shaw  at  one  time  carried  away 
seventy  tons  of  lead,  and  left  much  still  at  the  furnaces :  the 
lead  was  smelted  into  plats  weighing  about  seventy  pounds 
each.1 

In  consequence  of  the  admission  of  the  State  of  Illinois 
into  the  Union,  the  upper  country,  now  known  as  Wisconsin, 
was  attached  for  all  purposes  of  government  to  the  Territory 
of  Michigan,  and  although  little  of  immigration  yet  appeared 
in  the  country,  the  few  inhabitants  began  to  feel  that  the  laws 
of  the  United  States  had  been  extended  over  them,  and  that 
they  were  not  altogether  without  the  pale  of  protection,  not 
withstanding  they  were  still  surrounded  by  their  savage 
neighbours.  In  the  vicinity  of  Green  Bay  the  settlements 
began  to  improve  rapidly,  and  Fort  Howard  having  been 
built  in  1817,  and  Camp  Smith  (near  Desperes)  having  been 
occupied  by  a  detachment  of  United  States  troops,  in  1820, 
the  banks  of  the  Fox  River  soon  assumed  a  cheerful  and  cul 
tivated  appearance.  In  a  short  period  many  new  families 
were  added  to  the  old  French  settlements,  and  farms  were  com 
menced,  villages  located,  and  towns  laid  out  and  projected  to 

1  Doc.  Hist.  Lead  Trade  with  the  Indians. 


INDIAN  DISTURBANCES.  24T 

an  extent  that  gave  promise  of  a  future  prosperity,  which  at, 
this  day  has  been  verified.1 

In  the  western  portion  of  the  Territory,  and  particularly^ 
in  the  immediate  vicinity  of  the  lead-mines,  immigration  was 
rapidly  on  the  increase,  notwithstanding  the  jealousy  of  the 
Indians  on  the  subject  of  what  they  deemed  unauthorized  in 
trusion  on  their  lands,  and  the  apparent  danger  of  a  speedy 
outbreak  among  them,  in  acts  of  hostility  against  the  whites. 
The  policy  of  the  United  States  government  had  of  late  years 
been,  to  compel  the  Indian  tribes  to  remain  in  peace  with 
each  other ;  and  in  some  measure,  to  effect  this  object,  the 
government  in  the  treaties  with  the  different  tribes,  entered 
into  stipulations  of  protection  for  them,  on  its  own  part,  and 
sought  to  enforce,  on  theirs,  the  preservation  of  peace  with 
each  other.  But  unfortunately  in  this  respect,  the  stipula 
tions  were  of  little  avail,  and  the  interference  of  the  United 
States  government  in  the  quarrels  of  the  Indians,  became  a 
source  of  hostile  feeling  on  their  part,  often  terminating  in 
the  murder  of  the  whites  wherever  they  were  found.2 

In  the  early  part  of  the  year  1827,  a  party  of  twenty-four 
Chippewas,  being  on  their  way  to  Fort  Snelling,  at  the 
mouth  of  St.  Peter's  River,  were  surprised  and  attacked  by 
a  war  party  of  the  Winnebagoes,  and  eight  of  them  were 
killed.  The  commandant  of  the  United  States  troops,  at  the 
fort,  took  four  of  the  offending  Winnebagoes  prisoners,  and, 
(certainly  with  great  imprudence,)  delivered  them  into  the 
hands  of  the  exasperated  Chippewas,  who  immediately  put 
them  to  death.  This  act  was  greatly  resented  by  a  chief  of 
the  Winnebagoes,  named  "  Red  Bird,"  and  in  addition  to  this 
source  of  enmity  was  to  be  added  the  daily  encroachment  of 
the  whites  in  the  lead  region,  for  at  this  time  they  had  over 
run  the  mining  country  from  Galena  to  the  Wisconsin  River, 

In  the  spirit  of  revenge  for  the  killing  of  the  four  Winne 
bagoes,  Red  Bird  led  a  war  party  against  the  Chippewas,  by 

1  Descriptive  History,  Brown  County. 

2  Am.  State  Papers,  vol.  vi.  608. 


248  HISTORY  OF   WISCONSIN. 

whom  he  was  defeated,  and  thus  having  been  disappointed, 
he  turned  the  force  of  his  resentment  against  the  whites, 
whom  he  considered  as  having  not  only  invaded  his  country, 
but  as  having  aided  and  abetted  his  enemies  in  the  destruc 
tion  of  his  people. 

Some  time  previously,  a  murder  by  the  Winnebagoes  had 
been  committed  in  the  family  of  a  Mr.  Methode,  near  Prairie 
du  Chien,  in  which  several  persons  had  been  killed  :  it  was 
apparent  that  a  spirit  of  enmity  between  the  Indians  and  the 
whites  had  been  now  effectually  stirred  up,  and,  for  the  first 
time  since  the  war  of  1812,  disturbances  were  daily  looked 
for  by  the  settlers  and  the  miners. 

On  the  28th  of  June,  1827, l  a  party  of  Winnebagoes  en 
tered  a  house  at  Prairie  du  Chien,  murdered  and  scalped  two 
men,  Registre  Gagnier  and  Solomon  Lipcap,  and  scalped  a 
child,  Louisa  Gagnier ;  a  woman  who  was  present  made  her 
escape.  On  the  80th  of  June,  two  keel-boats  which  had 
taken  provisions  to  St.  Peter's,  were  attacked  by  the  Indians 
on  their  return  down  the  river,  about  forty  miles  above  Prairie 
du  Chien.  The  Indians  were  in  canoes,  and  boarded  one  of 
the  boats,  the  Oliver  II.  Perry,  and  two  of  them  were  killed 
in  the  boat.  They  behaved  with  great  intrepidity,  and  the 
engagement  continued  for  three  hours.  Two  men  were  killed 
and  six  wounded  belonging  to  the  boat;  and  it  is  supposed  ten 
or  twelve  Indians  were  killed,  and  a  great  number  wounded. 
The  other  boat,  which  was  a  few  miles  astern,  was  also 
attacked,  though  but  little  injury  was  done.2 

The  news  of  these  depredations  caused  considerable  alarm 
in  all  the  frontier  settlements,  particularly  in  Galena,  and  in 
the  lead-mines ;  this  portion  of  the  country  then  contained, 
as  is  supposed,  about  five  thousand  inhabitants:  the  militia 
of  Prairie  du  Chien  were  called  out ;  they  did*  not  exceed 
sixty  men,  badly  armed  and  provided,  but  they  took  posses 
sion  of  the  fort.  The  people  of  Fevre  River  organized  them- 

1  This  is  according  to  Judge  Doty's  date.     Niles's  Register  says  June  24th. 
*  Niles's  Register. 


INDIAN   DISTURBANCES.  24$ 

selves,  and  about  one  hundred  volunteers  marched  to  Prairie 
du  Chien. 

General  Clarke,  superintendent  of  Indian  Affairs,  at  St* 
Louis,  sent  an  express  to  Major  Forsyth,  agent  of  the  Sacs, 
and  Foxes,  with  orders  to  advise  the  chiefs  to  withdraw  all 
their  people  from  among  the  Winnebagoes,  in  order  to  pre 
vent  any  disagreeable  occurrences  from  taking  place,  by  mis 
taking  a  Sac  or  a  Fox  for  a  Winnebago,  by  ranging  parties ; 
and  to  inform  the  upper  Sac  and  Fox  villages,  that  all  their 
people  residing  or  being  with  the  Winnebagoes,  must  imme 
diately  retire  from  them,  and  remove  to  their  lands  west  of 
the  Mississippi. 

The  miners  and  settlers  collected  at  Galena,  on  the  firsfc 
alarm  of  Indian  hostilities,  and  organized  themselves  into  a 
force  of  mounted  volunteers,  choosing  Colonel  Henry  Dodge 
as  their  commander.  Governor  Edwards,  of  Illinois,  sent  a 
regiment  of  mounted  men,  under  the  command  of  General 
McNeale,  from  Sangamon  county  to  Galena,  which  town  was 
put  in  a  state  of  defence.  In  the  month  of  July,  General 
Atkinson  ascended  the  Mississippi,  with  six  companies  of  tho 
first,  and  the  whole  of  the  sixth  regiment,  comprising  a  force 
of  six  hundred  infantry  and  one  hundred  and  fifty  mounted 
men,  in  order  to  obtain  possession  of  Red  Bird,  and  to 
put  a  speedy  and  effectual  end  to  any  further  spread  of  In 
dian  disturbances. 

General  Atkinson  at  once  marched  into  the  heart  of  the 
Winnebago  country,  and  ascended  the  Wisconsin  River  ;  the 
Indians  were  awed  into  submission,  and,  without  any  blood 
having  been  shed,  Red  Bird,  and  six  other  Indians  of  his 
tribe  voluntarily  surrendered  themselves  prisoners,  in  order 
to  relieve  his  people  from  the  disastrous  effects  of  a  war  with 
the  whites.  The  prisoners  were  committed  into  safe  keeping 
at  Prairie  du  Chien,  there  to  await  their  trial  in  tho  regular 
courts  of  justice  for  murder. 

Notwithstanding  these  measures,  and  the  apparent  state 
of  quietness  in  the  Indian  country,  a  close  observer  might 
have  seen  strong  indications  of  coming  disturbances.  Whea 


250  HISTORY   OF   WISCONSIN. 

Governor  Cass  and  Colonel  McKinney  had  arrived,  during 
this  summer,  at  Green  Bay,  for  the  purpose  of  holding  trea 
ties  with  the  Indians,  it  was  ascertained  that  war  messages 
and  belts  had  been  sent  among  the  neighbouring  tribes,  and  a 
general  outbreak  was  feared.  Governor  Cass  ascended  the 
Pox  River,  and  descended  the  Wisconsin,  in  order  to  ascer 
tain  the  views  and  disposition  of  the  Winnebagoes.  They 
were  evidently  unfriendly :  in  descending  the  Wisconsin,  their 
women  and  children  fled  into  the  woods,  and  the  men  were 
armed,  and  had  prepared  lodges  of  observation  in  secluded 
places  upon  the  bank  of  the  river.  Governor  Cass  probably 
owed  his  safety  to  his  coming  unexpectedly  upon  them,  and 
to  the  appearance  of  his  birch-bark  canoe,  which  was  different 
from  those  of  the  traders,  and  which  led  them  to  suppose  that 
there  was  a  force  accompanying  it. 

The  treaty  of  Butte  des  Morts  was  made  on  the  llth  of 
August,  1827,  between  the  United  States  commissioners  and 
the  Menomonies,  Midland  Chippewas,  and  the  removed  bands 
of  the  Iroquois  and  Stockbridges,  some  Pottawatamies  from 
the  west  shore  of  Lake  Michigan,  and  one  band  of  Winneba 
goes.  At  this  treaty,  Schoolcraft  says,  "the  replies  of  'Four 
Legs,'  the  leading  chief  of  the  Winnebagoes,  were  evasive  and 
contradictory.  Circumstances  indicated  that  they  were  ripe 
for  a  blow.  They  had  fired  into  a  boat  descending  the  Mis 
sissippi,  at  Prairie  du  Chien,  and  committed  other  outrages."1 
The  prompt  and  combined  action  of  General  Atkinson  and 
the  volunteers  in  the  mining  country,  undoubtedly  prevented 
the  contemplated  outbreak  of  the  Indians  at  this  time. 

On  the  25th  of  August,  1828,  a  special  term  of  the  United 
States  District  Court  was  held  by  Judge  James  D.  Doty,  at 
Prairie  du  Chien,  for  the  trial  of  the  Indians  for  the  murders 
committed  in  June  of  the  year  preceding.  In  the  mean  time, 
Red  Bird  had  died  in  prison :  the  delay  of  administering 
justice  was  to  the  Indians  a  matter  not  comprehended;  they 
scarcely  in  any  instance  deny  an  act  which  they  have  com- 

1  Schoolcraft,  Personal  Memoirs. 


INDIAN   DISTURBANCES.  251 

mitted,  and  do  not  understand  why  punishment  should  not  be 
immediately  inflicted  on  the  guilty.  The  imprisonment  of 
the  body  is  to  them  a  most  insufferable  grievance,  and  they 
look  upon  the  act  as  cowardice  on  the  part  of  the  whites,  pre 
suming  that  they  dare  not  inflict  such  punishment  as  the  crime 
demands. 

On  the  first  of  September,  Chick-hong-sic,  or  the  Little 
Beuffe,  and  "VVa-ni-ga,  or  the  Sun,  were  indicted,  tried,  and 
convicted  as  accomplices  of  Red  Bird  in  the  murder  of  Re- 
gistre  Gagnier  and  Solomon  Lipcap :  they  were  sentenced  to 
be  hung  on  the  26th  of  December,  1828 ;  but  before  that  day, 
the  President's  pardon,  dated  November  3d,  1828,  arrived  at 
Prairie  du  Chien,  and  the  two  Indians  were  discharged.  Two 
Indians,  charged  with  the  murder  of  the  family  of  Mr. 
Methode,  were  discharged  under  a  nolle  prosequi,  which  was 
entered  by  the  United  States  attorney,  Mr.  John  Scott,  of 
Missouri,  who  had  been  sent  by  the  war  department  to  con 
duct  the  trials.  The  marshal  of  the  Territory,  Mr.  Thomas 
Rowland,  came  from  Detroit,  and  accompanied  Judge  Doty, 
in  a  birch-bark  canoe,  from  Green  Bay  to  Prarie  du  Chien. 
The  interpreters  at  these  trials  were  Pierre  Paquette  and 
Amable  Grignon  for  the  Winnebago,  and  John  Shaw,  then  a 
resident  of  Illinois,  for  the  French  language.  Judge  Doty 
remarks,  "that  there  can  be  no  doubt  that  this  murder  was 
intended  by  the  Winnebagoes  as  a  first  act  of  hostility  in  the 
commencement  of  a  war  upon  the  whites."1 

It  is  an  error  that  many  writers  on  these  events  have  fallen 
into,  in  saying  that  some  of  these  Indians  were  executed ; 
this  is  not  so,  no  one  was  executed.  Black  Hawk  and  Kano- 
nekah,  or  the  "Youngest  of  the  Thunders,"  were  among  the 
prisoners  charged  with  the  attack  on  the  boats,  the  preceding 
year,  but  the  charge  not  being  sustained  for  want  of  evidence, 
(although  there  was  no  doubt  of  their  guilt,)  they  were  dis 
charged,  as  was  also  a  son  of  Red  Bird.  During  the  disturb 
ances  occasioned  by  Red  Bird,  three  men  were  also  killed 

1  In  letter  to  the  compiler. 


252  HISTORY   OF   WISCONSIN. 

by  some  Indians,  on  Apple  River,  about  twelve  miles  from 
the  White-Oak  Springs:  this  was  about  the  beginning  of  July, 
1827. 

This  outbreak  was  generally  termed  "the  Winnebago  war," 
and,  as  we  have  observed,  was  soon  quieted :  the  restoration 
of  tranquillity  brought  with  it  an  influx  of  miners  and  set 
tlers  in  the  lead  region,  and  an  impulse  was  quickly  given  to 
a  great  portion  of  Western  Wisconsin,  which  afforded  every 
promise  of  future  prosperity ;  the  lake  shore  and  the  interior 
of  the  Territory  did  not  as  yet,  in  any  considerable  degree, 
receive  the  benefits  of  industrial  immigration.1 

In  the  mean  time,  the  old  causes  of  dissension  between  tho 
Indians  and  the  white  settlers  were  again  stirred  up,  as  they 
had  never  been  effectually  allayed,  by  the  restless  Black 
Hawk.  The  Rock  River  country,  arid  the  vicinity  of  Rock 
Island,  apparently  was  soon  to  become  the  seat  of  an  Indian 
war;  the  whites  were  already  in  the  possession  of  much  of 
the  country  around  Black  Hawk's  village,  arid  even  of  tho 
village  itself;  the  chief  was  driven  to  desperation  in  his  fruit 
less  attempts  to  resist  what  he  considered  the  lawless  en 
croachments  of  the  white  settlers  ;  and  he  once  more,  in  the 
spring  of  1831,  crossed  the  Mississippi  from  the  west,  with 
his  own  band  of  about  three  hundred  warriors,  together  with 
the  women  arid  children,  determined  to  regain,  if  possible,  tho 
possession  of  the  home  of  his  people  and  the  burial-place  of 
his  forefathers. 

He  applied  in  vain  for  redress  to  the  Indian  agent  at  Rock 
Island,  and  in  desperate  resentment  he  "  ordered  the  white 
settlers  away,  threw  down  their  fences,  unroofed  their  houses, 
cut  up  their  grain,  drove  off  and  killed  their  cattle,  and 
threatened  the  people  with  death  if  they  remained.  The  set 
tlers  made  their  complaints  to  Governor  Reynolds.  These 
acts  were  considered  by  the  governor  as  an  invasion  of  the 
State."2 


'  Doc.  Hist.  Lead  Trade.     Descriptive  Hist.:  the  several  counties. 
*  Ford's  Illinois,  p.  111. 


INDIAN   DISTURBANCES.  253 

Governor  Reynolds  consequently  applied  to  General  Gaines, 
of  the  United  States  army,  and  to  General  Clark,  superin- 
tendant  of  Indian  affairs,  to  afford  such  means  on  the  part  of 
the  government  as  was  in  their  power,  to  protect  the  citizens 
and  remove  the  Indians.  He  informed  General  Gaines  that 
he  had  called  on  seven  hundred  of  the  militia  of  the  State  to 
l)e  mounted  and  ready  for  that  service,  and  solicited  his  co 
operation  ;  this  letter  is  dated  at  Belleville,  then  the  capital 
of  Illinois,  on  the  28th  of  May,  1831,  and  on  the  next  day 
General  Gaines  uaid  in  answer,  that  he  had  ordered  six  com 
panies  of  regular  troops  to  proceed  from  Jefferson  Barracks 
the  day  following,  May  30th,  for  the  Sac  village,  and,  if 
necessary,  he  would  add  two  companies  more  from  Prairie  du 
Chien  ;  he  also  said  that  if  the  Indian  force  had  been  aug 
mented  by  other  Indians  than  the  "  hostile  Sacs,"  he  would 
correspond  with  Governor  Reynolds,  and  avail  himself  of  his 
offer  of  the  seven  hundred  mounted  volunteers. 

General  Gaines  immediately  proceeded  with  his  force,  in  a 
steamboat,  up  the  river  to  the  disputed  ground  ;  on  the  7th  of 
June  a  council  was  held  with  the  Indians,  in  which  Black 
Hawk  plainly  told  the  general  that  he  never  would  remove, 
asserted  that  he  was  a  Sac,  the  descendant  of  Sacs,  and  that 
the  village  and  grounds  of  his  ancestors  should  never  be 
abandoned  or  surrendered  by  him :  he  made  some  demonstra 
tions  of  hostility  by  appearing  at  the  council-house  at  the 
head  of  his  band,  armed  and  painted  as  if  for  war,  but  no 
hostile  act  was  committed,  neither  party  appearing  willing  to 
resort  to  extremities.1 

The  call  of  the  Governor  of  Illinois  for  volunteers  had 
been  so  well  answered,  that  by  the  10th  of  June  about  fifteen 
hundred  men  were  assembled  at  Beardstown,  who  were  organ- 

O 

ized  into  two  regiments,  an  odd  battalion,  and  a  spy  batta 
lion.  The  first  regiment  was  commanded  by  Colonel  James  D. 
Henry,  the  second  by  Colonel  Daniel  Leib,  the  odd  battalion 
by  Major  Nathaniel  Buckmaster,  and  the  spy  battalion  by 

'  Doo.  Hist.  Black  Hawk  War. 


254  HISTORY  OF  WISCONSIN. 

Major  Samuel  Whiteside.  The  whole  brigade  was  put  under 
the  command  of  Major-General  Joseph  Duncan,  of  the  State 
militia.1 

In  four  days,  this  volunteer  army  joined  General  Gaines 
on  the  Mississippi;  he  had  already  been  at  the  Indian  town, 
and  was  now  at  a  place  (since  called  Rockport)  about  eight 
miles  below  the  mouth  of  Rock  River ;  here  the  plan  of  fu 
ture  action  of  the  forces  was  adopted,  and  the  next  morning 
the  volunteers  marched  up  the  country,  while  General  Gaines 
ascended  the  river  in  his  steamboat.  This  was  on  the  26th 
of  June,  and  when  the  Sac  village  was  reached,  no  enemy 
was  found  there,  as  a  great  portion  of  the  Indians  had  quietly 
departed  the  same  morning,  and  in  their  canoes  had  crossed 
to  the  western  side  of  the  Mississippi.  The  Sac  village  was 
taken  possession  of  without  firing  a  gun,  but  the  volunteers 
were  determined  to  be  avenged  upon  something.  The  rain 
descended  in  torrents,  and  the  Indian  wigwams  would  have 
furnished  a  comfortable  shelter;  but  notwithstanding  the  rain, 
the  whole  town  was  soon  wrapped  in  flames — and  thus  perished 
an  ancient  village  which  had  once  been  the  delightful  home 
of  six  or  seven  thousand  Indians.1 

On  the  27th,  the  army  proceeded  up  the  river  to  Rock 
Island,  and  encamped  for  several  days  on  the  site  of  the  old 
town  of  Stephenson,  now  the  town  of  Rock  Island  ;  here 
Black  Hawk  and  the  chiefs  and  braves  of  the  hostile  band 
sued  for  peace,  doubtless  stimulated  thereto  by  the  threats 
of  General  Gaines  to  pursue  the  Indians  who  had  retreated 
across  the  river.  A  treaty  was  entered  into  June  30th,  1831, 
by  which  the  Indians  agreed  to  remain  for  ever  after  on  the 
west  side  of  the  river,  and  never  to  recross  it  without  the 
permission  of  the  President  or  the  Governor  of  the  State  j 
this  treaty  did  not  remain  one  year  without  an  infraction. 

In  this  attempt  of  Black  Hawk  to  recover  the  possession 
of  his  village,  hopeless  as  it  in  truth  was,  and  as  it  certainly 
must  have  appeared  to  himself,  if  we  allow  him  only  a  portion 

i  Ford's  Illinois,  112.  •  Ibid.  115. 


INDIAN   DISTURBANCES.  255 

of  the  judgment  and  discrimination  attributed  to  him,  he  ex 
pected  assistance  from  his  friends  the  Winnebagoes,  the  Pot- 
tawatamies,  and  the  Kickapoos ;  for  this  purpose  they  had 
been  solicited  by  Black  Hawk,  and  he  had  received  promises 
of  their  compliance  with  his  request.  But  the  actual  situa 
tion  in  which  Black  Hawk  stood  in  his  relations  with  the 
General  Government,  appears  to  have  been  comprehended  by 
the  neighbouring  tribes  of  Indians  ;  they  had  reason  to  dread 
the  result  of  any  contest  with  the  American  power,  and 
although  a  few  of  them  joined  the  Sacs,  (about  two  hundred, 
according  to  the  statement  of  General  Gaines,)  they  did  not 
long  remain  faithful  to  any  hostile  confederacy  against  the 
United  States. 

In  his  despatch  to  the  secretary  of  war,  General  Gaines 
said  he  was  of  opinion  that  "the  Sacs  were  as  completely 
humbled  as  if  they  had  been  chastised  in  battle,  and  less  dis 
posed  to  disturb  the  frontier  inhabitants  ;"  and  that  Governor 
Reynolds  was  of  the  same  opinion.1  But  in  this  they  were 
both  mistaken ;  for  scarcely  a  year  elapsed  before  Black 
Hawk's  people  again  crossed  the  Mississippi  under  various 
pretexts,  one  of  which  was  the  starving  condition  of  the 
Sacs,  in  consequence  of  the  failure  of  the  government  au 
thorities  to  supply  them  with  corn  according  to  contract,  and 
therefore  they  went  over  the  river  to  steal  corn  from  their  own 
fields.*  Thus  began  a  new  series  of  troubles,  ending  in  much 
bloodshed,  and  the  final  capture  of  Black  Hawk,  and  the 
utter  prostration  of  his  power  and  influence. 

In  all  his  attempts  to  obtain  redress  for  real  or  fancied 
injuries  by  a  resort  to  arms,  Black  Hawk  had  been  fed  with 
the  hopes  of  assistance,  not  only  from  his  Indian  allies,  but 
from  the  British  at  Maiden.  Before  he  undertook  his  incur 
sion  in  1831,  he  had  sent  Ne-a-pope  as  an  emissary  to  sound 
the  neighbouring  tribes  on  the  subject  of  their  co-operation 
with  him  against  the  whites,  and  he  was  grossly  deceived  by 


1  Gaines  Report.     Note  H. 

2  Doc.  Hist.  Black  Hawk  War.     Drake's  Indians,  644. 


256  HISTORY  OP  WISCONSIN. 

the  report  which  was  made  to  him.  Ne-a-pope  informed  hina 
that  his  British  father  at  Maiden  would  aid  him  as  soon  as  a 
blow  was  struck  in  war ;  and  he  also  said  that  the  Prophet 
had  told  him  that  the  Ottawas,  Chippewas,  Pottawatamies, 
and  Winriebagoes  would  join  him ;  and  if  they  were  whipped 
they  were  to  go  to  Selkirk's  settlement,  Was-sa-cum-mi-co,  as 
the  Prophet  had  received  a  friendly  talk  from  the  chief  of 
that  place,  on  the  subject;  but  all  this  was  false,  and  a  fabri 
cation  of  Ne-a-pope,  as  Black  Hawk  learned  in  the  sequel.1 
Keokuk  always  told  him  he  had  been  imposed  upon  by  liars, 
and  urged  him  to  keep  quiet;  but  his  restless  spirit  could 
not  be  appeased ;  and  notwithstanding  all  the  experience 
•which  the  events  of  1831  should  have  taught  him — notwith 
standing  all  the  assurances  which  he  gave  of  his  pacific  de 
terminations,  at  Rock  Island — against  all  the  remonstrances 
of  his  true  friends,  and  with  no  probable  prospect  of  ultimate 
success  before  him,  we  find  Black  Hawk,  in  1832,  again  dis 
turbing  the  peace  of  the  Northwest,  and  opening  a  war-path 
that  finally  led  to  the  destruction  of  his  people,  and  his  own 
degradation  in  rank,  as  a  chief  and  a  leader  of  his  nation. 
We  now  proceed  to  view  the  chief  incidents  of  the  outbreak 
known  as  the  Black  Hawk  war;  many  of  which  occurred  in 
that  part  of  Michigan  which  is  now  the  State  of  Wisconsin, 
and  within  which  the  career  of  the  obstinate  and  revengeful 
Indian  terminated  in  irremediable  defeat. 


1  Black  Hawk's  Life.     Doc.  Hist  Black  Hawk  War. 


CHAPTER  VI. 


BLACK   HAWK   IN  WISCONSIN. 

The  treaty  of  St.  Louis— Settlers  in  Black  Hawk's  village— Obstinacy  of  Black 
Hawk — He  again  crosses  the  Mississippi — Governor  Reynolds  demands 
aid — General  Atkinson  ascends  the  river — Black  Hawk  refuses  to  go  back 
— The  army  follows  him — Volunteers  at  Dixon's  Ferry — Major  Stillman's 
attack,  and  flight  of  his  men — First  blood  shed  in  the  war — Governor 
Keynolds  demands  more  aid — Sioux  and  Menomonies  offer  their  services — 
Talk  with  the  Winnebagoes — Alarm  in  the  mining  district — Colonel  Dodge 
writes  to  Governor  Reynolds — Authority  of  Colonel  Dodge — Assembles  vo 
lunteers — Marches  to  Rock  River — Returns  home  and  prepares  for  defence 
— Massacre  at  Indian  Creek  and  capture  of  Misses  Hall — St.  Vrain,  Hawley, 
and  others  killed — Affair  at  Buffalo  Grove — Major  Dement's  battle — Attack 
at  Apple  River — Affair  at  Sinsinawa  Mound — Dodge  talks  with  the  Winne 
bagoes — Forts  and  block-houses  in  Iowa  county — The  Misses  Hall  deli 
vered  up — Winnebagoes  suspected — Aubrey  killed  at  Mound  Fort — Dodge's 
volunteers  march — He  addresses  them — They  bury  St.  Vrain,  Hawley,  and 
others — Reach  the  camp  at  Dixon — Proceed  to  General  Atkinson's  camp 
— Dodge  receives  his  orders  and  returns — Murders  at  Spafford's  farm — 
Dodge  assembles  a  force — Proceeds  to  Fort  Hamilton — Apple  killed — Bat 
tle  of  the  Pecatonica — Chippewas  and  Sioux  come  to  Fort  Hamilton  and 
return — Force  and  Green  killed  at  Mound  Fort — Dodge  joins  General  Po- 
sey's  command — Disposition  of  the  forces — March  of  a  portion  of  the 
army — General  Atkinson  at  Koshkonong — The  White  Crow  offers  to  pilot 
the  forces  to  Black  Hawk's  camp — His  supposed  treachery — General  At 
kinson  sends  to  Fort  Wiunebago  for  provisions— General  Henry  and  Colonel 
Dodge  march  in  search  of  Black  Hawk — They  reach  Rock  River  rapids — 
Discover  the  Indian  trail,  which  is  followed — Overtake  Black  Hawk — Bat 
tle  of  the  Wisconsin  Heights— General  Atkinson  breaks  up  his  camp  and 
marches  in  pursuit  of  Black  Hawk — They  cross  the  Wisconsin  River  and 
follow  the  Indian  trail — Battle  of  Bad  Axe — Winnebago  chiefs  bring  Black 
Hawk  in  as  a  prisoner — General  Scott's  rapid  movements  with  his  forces 
— They  are  attacked  with  cholera — Loss  of  the  Americans  in  this  war- 
Subsequent  notices  of  Black  Hawk,  and  reflections — The  volunteers  of 
VOL.  I.— 17  257 


258  HISTORY  OF   WISCONSIN. 

Wisconsin — Increase  of  population  in  the  mining  country — Important  In 
dian  treaties — Land  speculations — Military  road  opened — Mail  route  up  the 
Mississippi  —  Early  private  enterprise — Hamilton — Farnsworth — Trans 
portation  of  troops — Early  history  of  Prairie  du  Chien — Causes  operating 
against  the  early  settlement  of  the  country — Michigan  about  to  become 
a  State — New  Territory  to  be  formed  in  the  West — Jealousy  as  to  the  seat 
of  government — Legislative  proceedings — Final  action  of  Congress  esta 
blishing  the  Territory  of  Wisconsin. 

THE  treaty  of  St.  Louis,  in  November,  1804,  and  all  sub 
sequent  treaties  by  which  certain  lands  of  the  Sacs  and  Foxes 
were  ceded  to  the  United  States,  were  ever  denied  to  be  valid 
and  binding  by  Black  Hawk  and  a  few  chiefs  who  adhered  to 
his  party  ;  inasmuch  as  by  the  terms  of  those  treaties,  (ap 
they  asserted,)  territory  was  described  which  the  Indians  never 
intended  to  sell ;  and  the  treaty  of  1804,  particularly,  was 
made  by  parties  who  had  neither  authority  in  the  nation,  nor 
power  to  dispose  of  its  lands.  A  quarter  of  a  century  had 
passed  since  this  latter  treaty  had  been  made,  and  each  year 
had  brought  with  it  the  undying  animosity  of  Black  Hawk 
against  the  Americans. 

The  United  States  had  found  no  good  reason  to  doubt  the 
reciprocal  good  faith  in  which  the  several  treaties  with  the 
Sacs  and  Foxes  had  been  entered  into  ;  and  hence,  could  not 
anticipate  an  armed  resistance  on  the  part  of  the  Indians,  to 
a  possession  of  the  lands  being  taken  by  citizens  emigrating 
from  different  parts  of  the  Union  into  the  newly  acquired  coun 
try.  It  was  generally  understood  in  the  summer  of  1830, 
that  the  Sacs  had  ceded  all  their  land  on  the  east  side  of  the 
Mississippi,  and  soon  a  flowing  tide  of  immigration  set  in  for 
the  neighbourhood  of  Rock  River,  and  particularly  for  tho 
fertile  spot  near  its  mouth,  known  as  Black  Hawk's  village. 
The  settlement  of  the  whites,  before  the  entire  removal  of  the 
Indians,  became,  as  might  well  be  expected,  a  source  of  great 
annoyance,  and  of  manifest  danger  to  all  parties.  Black  Hawk 
saw  his  grounds  surrounding  his  village  daily  encroached  upon 
by  the  white  settlers;  and  his  remonstrances,  and  representa 
tions  of  wrongs  committed  upon  what  he  considered  his  un- 


BLACK   HAWK  IN   WISCONSIN.  259 

alienated  rights  and  property,  were  alike  disregarded  by  those 
whom  he  believed  were  able  to  protect  him,  and  bound  to  give 
him  redress.  He  had  been  repeatedly  advised  by  Keokuk, 
and  the  chiefs  of  that  party  which  acknowledged  the  validity 
of  the  treaties,  to  remove,  as  they  had  done,  to  the  western 
side  of  the  Mississippi;  he  had  been  informed  of  the  conse 
quences  of  a  refusal  to  fulfil  the  treaties,  and  of  the  utter 
hopelessless  of  a  resistance  on  the  part  of  his  band  against 
the  power  of  the  United  States,  which  would  certainly  be  put 
in  force  to  protect  the  immigrating  settlers  ;  he  had  not,  ac 
cording  to  his  own  account,  been  ignorant  of  his  situation,  but 
he  always,  as  he  says,  expected  redress  for  his  wrongs  from 
the  General  Government;  in  fine,  when  he  saw  before  him  no 
hope  of  retaining  possession  of  the  village  and  burial-place 
of  his  ancestors,  his  firmness  of  purpose  degenerated  into 
blind  obstinacy,  and  his  bitter  hatred  of  the  Americans  assumed 
the  features  of  a  bloody  revenge. 

Of  all  these  matters  we  have  already  partially  spoken,  and 
it  now  remains  for  us  to  view  the  final  efforts  of  Black  Hawk 
to  recover  the  possessions  of  his  ancestors ;  efforts  in  which 
he  opposed  the  whole  power  of  the  General  Government,  com 
bined  with  the  aroused  spirit  of  a  hardy  and  active  population 
of  settlers  from  the  States,  who  were  thus  compelled,  imme 
diately  after  their  immigration  to  the  mining  region,  to  enter 
into  all  the  vicissitudes  of  Indian  warfare. 

Notwithstanding  the  lessons  of  experience  which  Black 
Hawk  and  his  band  might  have  derived  from  the  result  of 
affairs  in  1831,  and  in  despite  of  the  treaty  then  entered  into 
at  Rock  Island,  we  find  that  this  restless  Indian,  early  in  the 
spring  of  1832,  was  again  prepared  to  assert  his  rights  to  the 
disputed  land  at  the  mouth  of  Rock  River,  and  apparently 
determined  to  obtain,  and  protect  the  same  by  the  force  not 
only  of  his  own  band,  but  by  the  aid  which  he  had  been  in 
duced  to  look  for  from  his  British  father,  as  well  as  several  of 
the  neighbouring  tribes  :  in  both  the  latter,  as  we  have  ob- 
Berved,  he  was  deceived. 

Black  Hawk  commenced  his  last,  and  to  him  fatal  expedi- 


260  HISTORY  OF  WISCONSIN. 

tion,  in  April,  1832 ;  he  moved  up  the  Mississippi  with  his 
band,  the  women  and  children  in  canoes,  his  braves  on  horse 
back  ;  the  number  of  his  force  is  not  accurately  known,  but 
it  is  believed  that  at  no  period  of  the  ensuing  disturbances 
did  his  combined  forces  exceed  five  or  six  hundred.  He  was 
joined  by  the  Prophet  below  Rock  River,  which,  after  crossing 
the  Mississippi,  he  prepared  to  ascend,  hoping  to  meet  the 
Pottawatamies  and  Winnebagoes  as  his  allies,  when  he  arrived 
in  their  country. 

As  soon  as  Governor  Reynolds  was  apprized  of  this  matter, 
he  again  declared  the  State  of  Illinois  invaded,  and  made  a 
call  for  volunteers,  as  well  as  a  demand  for  aid  from  the  General 
Government ;  in  a  few  days  about  eighteen  hundred  men  as 
sembled  at  Beardstown,  and  they  were  immediately  organized 
into  four  regiments  and  a  spy  battalion,  the  whole  being  placed 
under  the  command  of  Brigadier-General  Samuel  Whiteside. 

General  Atkinson,  with  a  body  of  United  States  troops,  had 
ascended  the  Mississippi  in  steamboats :  on  their  arrival  in 
the  neighbourhood  of  Rock  River  they  were  joined  by  the 
Illinois  volunteers ;  and  General  Atkinson  despatched  several 
expresses  to  Black  Hawk,  ordering  him  in  a  peremptory  man 
ner  to  leave  the  country  and  return  to  the  west  side  of  the 
Mississippi ;  to  these  expresses  Black  Hawk  as  peremptorily 
answered  "  that  he  would  not  leave  the  country,  that  he  was 
going  up  Rock  River  to  the  Prophet's  village  to  make  corn,  to 
which  he  had  been  invited,  and  the  whites  might  attack  him 
if  they  dared ;  that  they  might  come  on  if  they  chose,  but 
they  would  not  find  him  unprepared  ;  yet  he  would  not  begin 
with  them."1  Black  Hawk  hoisted  the  British  flag  and  pro 
ceeded  up  Rock  River  to  the  Prophet's  village,  below  Kish- 
waukee,  where  he  called  his  chiefs  together  and  informed  them 
that  he  had  found  that  Ne-a-pope  had  deceived  him  in  the 
expected  aid  which  he  had  asserted  he  would  receive,  but  that 
his  people  must  not  know  this  fact, 
i  The  regular  troops  under  General  Atkinson  followed  Black 

1  Drake's  Indian  Biog.  p.  644.     Doc.  Hist.  Black  Hawk  War. 


BLACK  HAWK  IN   WISCONSIN..  261 

Hawk  up  Rock  River:  they  were  preceded  by  the  militia 
under  General  "VVhiteside,  who  on  his  march  burned  the  Pro 
phet's  village,  and  made  a  halt  at  Dixon's  Ferry,  about  forty 
miles  higher  up  the  river — having  found  that  Black  Hawk  was 
still  in  the  advance ;  and  it  became  necessary  to  send  out  re- 
connoitering  parties  to  ascertain  his  position,  and  also  to  wait 
for  a  junction  with  the  United  States  forces,  which  was  soon 
effected. 

Previous,  however,  to  the  arrival  of  General  Atkinson  at 
Dixon's  Ferry,  the  officers  of  the  volunteers  exhibited  a  will 
ingness  to  be  employed  on  active  and  dangerous  service,  and 
on  the  12th  of  May  a  battalion  of  275  mounted  men,  under 
the  command  of  Major  Stillman,  marched  up  the  left  bank  of 
Rock  River  to  endeavour  to  find  the  locality  of  Black  Hawk : 
on  the  14th  this  force  had  reached  a  small  stream  (since  called 
Stillman's  Run)  in  the  vicinity  of  Sycamore  Creek,  where  they 
encamped,  and  in  a  short  time  discovered  a  small  party  of  In 
dians  about  a  mile  from  them,  apparently  approaching  them. 

Black  Hawk  had  been  aware 'of  the  approach  of  Stillman's 
detachment,  and  had  sent  out  three  of  his  young  men  with  a 
white  flag  to  invite  a  conference  with  the  officers  at  his  camp, 
and  (as  he  says)  if  that  was  refused,  then  to  say  that  he  would 
himself  go  to  the  American  camp  :  his  desire,  up  to  this  time, 
if  his  declarations  are  to  be  credited,  was  to  make  peace,  and 
at  all  events  to  offer  no  resistance,  unless  he  should  be  attacked 
by  the  whites.1 

These  Indians  were  no  sooner  perceived  by  Stillman's  men, 
than  a  party  of  them,  eager  for  an  Indian  fight,  mounted 
their  horses  without  orders  or  officers,  and  rode  in  a  disorderly 
manner  upon  the  advancing  party,  who  retreated  displaying 
their  flag,  but  they  were  taken  prisoners  and  carried  into 
camp.  In  the  mean  time,  Black  Hawk  had  despatched  five 
other  of  his  young  men  to  ascertain  what  had  become  of  his 
first  party,  and  these  having  also  been  discovered  approach 
ing,  were  attacked  by  Stillman's  men,  who  killed  two  of  them, 

;  Doc.  Hist.  Black  Hawk  War,  and  references. 


262  HISTORY  OF  WISCONSIN. 

and  the  others  escaped  and  reported  the  existing  circumstance* 
to  Black  Hawk.  From  all  the  facts  of  which  we  have  any 
knowledge  in  this  case,  from  his  own  declarations,  and  from 
the  circumstance  of  his  having  at  this  time  with  him  only  forty 
of  his  men,  it  does  not  appear  that  Black  Hawk  expected  any 
attack  upon  him ;  neither  did  he  contemplate  any  attack  on 
his  part  upon  the  whites ;  but  when  he  learned  the  death  of 
his  braves,  and  believed  that  his  white  flag  was  not  respected, 
but  on  the  contrary  that  a  war  of  extermination  was  deter 
mined  on  against  him,  he  aroused  his  warriors,  sounded  the 
war-whoop,  and  rushed  upon  the  advance  of  Stillman's  horse 
men,  who  immediately  retreated  in  the  hottest  haste,  carrying 
with  them  terror  and  dismay,  into,  and  through  the  camp,  where 
all  attempts  of  Major  Stillman  to  rally  his  men  and  make  a 
stand  were  alike  ineffectual,  and  the  retreat  of  a  few  indivi 
duals  soon  became  a  most  disorderly  flight  of  the  whole.  The 
camp  was  abandoned  to  the  Indians,  who  pursued  the  fugitives 
some  ten  or  twelve  miles  :  a  few  only  were  killed,  owing  to  the 
extreme  disorder  of  the  flight,  scarcely  two  men  being  together, 
and  the  fewness  in  number  of  Black  Hawk's  force.  Major 
Stillman  and  his  volunteers  did  not  stop  in  their  course  of  re 
treat  until  they  came  to  Dixon's  Ferry,  at  which  place  the 
stragglers  were  arriving  at  all  times  during  the  night,  with 
the  most  exaggerated  accounts  of  the  numbers  of  the  pursuing 
Indians,  and  the  melancholy  story,  that  all  who  had  been  left 
behind  had  been  massacred  by  the  savage  foe.  Black  Hawk's 
force  was  magnified  to  fifteen  hundred,  and  the  most  extrava 
gant  reports  of  their  numbers,  and  of  the  bloody  battle  were 
made  by  the  fugitives  ;  but  it  was  finally  ascertained  that  the 
result  of  a  flight  of  thirty  miles  on  part  of  the  terror-stricken 
whites,  and  a  pursuit  by  some  forty  Indians,  was  the  loss  of 
eleven  men,  whose  bodies  were  afterward  found  and  interred: 
according  to  Black  Hawk's  own  account,  his  loss  was  three 
men,  and  those  were  of  the  parties  which  he  sent  out  to  meet 
the  white's  before  his  pursuit  commenced.1 

1  Doct.  Hist.  Black  Hawk  War. 


BLACK  HAWK  IN  WISCONSIN.  263 

It  must  be  acknowledged  that  whether  Black  Hawk  was 
sincere  or  not  in  his  intentions  of  making  peace  and  entering 
into  amicable  arrangements,  when  he  first  sent  (as  he  asserts) 
his  young  men  for  that  purpose  to  visit  Stillman's  camp,  the 
first  blood  that  was  shed  in  these  disturbances  was  shed  by 
the  whites.  To  the  utter  insubordination  of  Major  Stillman's 
men,  and  the  apparent  desire  exhibited  by  them  of  killing  an 
Indian  on  the  first  favourable  opportunity,  may  perhaps  be 
attributed  all  the  disastrous  consequences  of  the  subsequent 
Black  Hawk  war :  at  all  events,  the  first  blow  was  struck  on 
the  14th  of  May,  1832,  at  Stillman's  Kun. 

The  alarm  which  had  already  spread  through  the  country, 
was  by  no  means  lessened  by  the  proclamation  of  Governor 
Reynolds,  which  was  issued  to  the  militia  officers,  and  dated 
at  Dixon's  Ferry,  on  May  15th,  in  which  he  says — «  The  State 
is  not  only  invaded  by  the  hostile  Indians,  but  many  of  our 
citizens  have  been  slain  in  battle."  He  then  alludes  to  Still 
man's  defeat,  (275  mounted  volunteers,}  and  states  his  belief 
that  the  Pottawatamies  and  Winnebagoes  had  joined  the  Sacs, 
and  that  all  may  be  considered  as  waging  war  against  the  United 
States.  To  subdue  those  Indians  and  drive  them  out  of  the 
State,  the  governor  makes  a  requisition  of  a  force  of  two 
thousand  mounted  volunteers  in  addition  to  the  troops  already 
in  the  field.  They  were  ordered  to  meet  at  Hennepin,  on  the 
Illinois  River,  in  companies  of  fifty  men  each,  on  the  10th 
of  June,  to  be  organized  into  brigades. 

In  the  commencement  of  the  disturbances,  there  were  very 
many  of  the  Sioux  and  Menomonies,  the  implacable  enemies  of 
the  Sacs,  who,  thirsting  for  an  opportunity  of  wreaking  ven 
geance  upon  them,  freely  offered  their  aid  to  the  whites,  which 
was  then  refused ;  but  soon  after  the  result  of  this  first  affair 
was  made  known,  the  services  of  these  Indians  were  solicited, 
and  Colonel  William  S.  Hamilton  was  sent  up  the  country 
above  Prairie  du  Chien,  to  effect  the  desired  end :  several 
parties  of  Indians  hostile  to  the  Sacs  were  consequently  soon 
on  their  march  to  join  the  army. 

Late  in  the  month  of  May,  Mr.  Gratiot,  the  Indian  agent, 


264  HISTORY   OF   WISCONSIN. 

held  a  council  with  a  number  of  Winnebago  chiefs  at  the  head 
of  the  Four  Lakes,  in  order  to  secure  their  services,  if  possi 
ble,  or  at  least  to  prevent  them  from  joining  the  war  party  of 
Black  Hawk.  At  this  council,  the  chiefs  all  signified  their 
desire  to  remain  at  peace  with  the  white  people,  but  did  not 
testify  any  willingness  to  give  their  aid  against  the  Sacs ;  but 
even  this  was  gaining  much,  as,  if  they  remained  only  neu 
tral,  the  mining  region  would  be  in  a  state  of  comparative 
security,  and  its  inhabitants  thereby  be  enabled  to  act  against 
the  Indian  foe  in  their  front  without  being  harassed  by  the 
Winnebagoes  in  their  rear.1 

As  soon  as  the  news  of  the  disturbances  between  the  In 
dians  and  the  settlers  on  Rock  River  was  made  known  in  the 
mineral  region,  the  utmost  anxiety  prevailed  among  the  in 
habitants;  the  greater  portion  of  whom  were  miners  and 
others  engaged  in  the  lead  trade,  who  had  been,  in  a  proper 
view  of  the  matter  of  their  immigration,  actually  invited  into 
the  country  by  the  agents  of  the  General  Government,  and 
under  its  sanction,  to  work  and  explore  the  mineral  lands. 
Such  an  immigration  did  not  come  within  the  category  of 
those  whose  settlements  in  the  country  to  which  the  Indian 
title  had  not  been  extinguished  had  been  the  source  of  Indian 
complaint  and  of  Indian  warfare.  The  immigrants  in  the 
mining  country  were  citizens  who  had  a  peculiar  claim  on  the 
immediate  protection  of  the  Government ;  many  of  them  were 
the  lessees  of  the  Government,  and  all  were  contributing  to 
its  present  advantage  and  ultimate  benefit. 

But  these  industrious  pioneers  were  in  a  much  exposed 
frontier  country,  in  case  of  any  sudden  outbreak  of  the  In 
dians,  and  were  wholly  without  the  necessary  protection  of 
the  regular  troops  of  the  Government ;  it  consequently 
became  necessary  to  take  every  step  within  their  power  to 
protect  themselves.  The  views  and  feelings  of  the  settlers  in 
Illinois  acquired  a  double  force  in  the  mining  country.  "We 
knew,"  says  Governor  Reynolds,  "that  the  hearts  of  all  the 

1  See  Note  A. 


BLACK  HAWK  IN  WISCONSIN.  265 

Indians  who  resided  within  three  hundred  miles  of  the  scenes  of 
the  Black  Hawk  War  were  with  him  in  the  quarrel,  and  wished 
him  success.  *  *  *  If  Black  Hawk  had  succeeded  in  some 
skirmishes,  and  no  efficient  efforts  been  made  against  him,  all 
the  tribes  around  about  him  would  unite  with  his  band  and 
harass  the  frontiers.  To  prevent  this  outbreak  of  the  Indians 
it  was  necessary  to  act  with  despatch  and  efficiency."1 

It  was  in  the  first  week  in  May,  1832,  that  rumours  reached 
the  lead  region  that  Black  Hawk  had  crossed  the  Mississippi 
and  taken  possession  of  his  village  at  Rock  Island;  also, 
that  General  Atkinson  was  ascending  the  river  from  St.  Louis 
with  troops,  and  that  Governor  Reynolds  was  to  join  him  at 
Dixon's  Ferry,  (on  Rock  River,)  with  the  Illinois  militia,  for 
the  purpose  of  protecting  the  country,  and  to  compel  Black 
Hawk  to  leave  the  eastern  side  of  the  Mississippi.  These 
reports  being  well  founded,  fears  were  justly  entertained  by 
the  inhabitants  of  the  mining  region,  that  in  the  event  of 
hostilities  commencing  with  the  Indians,  they  would  fall  back 
from  Rock  River  on  the  settlers  in  the  neighbourhood  of  Ga 
lena  and  south  of  the  Wisconsin  River.  To  express  these 
views,  and  request  assistance  in  such  event,  Colonel  Henry 
Dodge  addressed  a  letter  to  Governor  Reynolds,  on  the  8th 
of  May,  1832,  and  sent  the  same  by  a  deputation.2 

Henry  Dodge  was  one  of  the  early  pioneers  of  the  lead  region, 
to  which  he  had  emigrated  from  Missouri,  with  a  large  family 
of  sons  and  daughters,  some  six  years  previously:  he  was  largely 
engaged  in  the  lead  business  of  mining  and  smelting,  himself 
an  industrious  citizen.  His  public  position  at  this  time,  in 
this  part  of  the  Territory  of  Michigan,  was  that  of  Colonel 
of  the  Michigan  militia;  to  this  command  was  added,  imme 
diately  on  the  commencement  of  hostilities,  the  command  of 
the  mounted  volunteers  of  Iowa  county,  and  the  Galena 
volunteers  of  the  State  of  Illinois,  when  they  served  by  com. 
panics  in  the  Territory  of  Michigan,  now  the  State  of  Wis 
consin.  He  was  under  the  orders  of  Brigadier-General 

» Reynolds's  Illinois  2  See  Note  B. 


266  HISTORY  OF  WISCONSIN. 

Atkinson,  of  the  United  States  army,  from  the  commencement 
to  the  close  of  the  Indian  disturbances  on  this  frontier.  At 
the  battles  of  Wisconsin  Heights  and  Bad  Axe,  the  officers 
and  volunteers  served  under  the  orders  of  General  Henry. 

In  virtue  of  his  military  authority,  and  in  the  judicious  ex 
ercise  of  a  wise  precaution,  Colonel  Dodge  assembled  a  few  of 
the  miners  and  settlers  in  the  neighbourhood  of  Dodgeville 
and  Mineral  Point,  in  Iowa  county,  in  number  twenty-seven, 
among  whom  was  the  Colonel's  second  son,  Augustus  C. 
Dodge,  now  of  Iowa.  This  little  party  of  volunteers  started 
about  the  eighth  or  ninth  of  May,  on  an  expedition  to  Rock 
River,  to  ascertain  the  position  and  probable  movements  of 
Black  Hawk  and  his  followers. 

Colonel  Dodge  proceeded  by  way  of  Apple  River  to  Buf 
falo  Grove,  at  which  place  an  Indian  trail  was  discovered^ 
which  was  followed  by  his  little  company  to  Rock  River,  at  a 
point  nearly  opposite  the  Kishwaukee,  and  within  a  few  miles 
of  the  ground  upon  which  Major  Stillman,  at  the  head  of 
three  hundred  Illinois  volunteers,  was,  on  the  same  day, 
(May  14th,)  with  his  whole  command,  disastrously  beaten  and 
put  to  flight  by  Black  Hawk.1  After  the  battle,  Governor 
Reynolds  sent  an  express,  at  night,  to  Colonel  Dodge,  inform 
ing  him  of  the  facts,  and  that  his  country  in  the  Territory 
was  in  imminent  danger  from  the  attacks  of  the  Indians.8 
Colonel  Dodge  immediately  returned  home,  and  gave  notice 
and  advice  to  the  inhabitants  of  the  mining  country  to  fort 
themselves,  and  immediately  organize  for  defence. 

During  the  month  of  May,  many  depredations  were  com 
mitted  by  Black  Hawk's  bands  in  the  Rock  River  country 
and  within  the  State  of  Illinois. 

At  this  time  there  was  a  small  settlement  at  Indian  Creek, 
a  tributary  of  the  Fox  River  of  Illinois,  some  fifteen  miles 
from  the  present  town  of  Ottawa  :  one  of  the  settlers,  named 
Hall,  had  some  time  previously  insulted  and  beaten  a  Potta- 
•wattamie  Indian.  On  the  22d  of  May,  the  inmates  of  the 

1  Letter  of  A.  C.  Dodge,  penes  me.  2  Reynolds's  Illinois. 


BLACK  HAWK  IN  WISCONSIN.  26T 

families  of  three  of  the  settlers,  Messrs.  Hall,  Davis,  and 
Pettigrew,  had  assembled  together  in  one  of  their  dwellings, 
where  they  were  attacked  by  a  party  of  about  seventy  In 
dians,  led  on,  it  is  said,  by  the  outraged  Pottawatarnie ;  an 
indiscriminate  massacre  took  place,  and  all  who  were  in  the 
house,  in  number  fifteen  persons,  were  killed,  except  two 
daughters  of  Mr.  Hall,  who  were  led  away  captive.  These 
girls  were  taken  by  their  captors  to  Black  Hawk's  camp, 
then  near  Lake  Koshkonong,  and,  after  a  detention  of  a  few 
days,  they  were  delivered  up  to  some  Winnebago  chiefs,  who 
were  induced  to  effect  their  liberation  in  consequence  of  a 
large  reward  offered  by  General  Atkinson  for  that  purpose.1 

On  the  same  day  of  this  massacre,  a  party  of  four  persons 
left  Dixon's  Ferry  for  the  purpose  of  exploring  the  country 
in  order  to  make  settlements.  Near  Buffalo  Grove  they  dis 
covered  the  dead  body  of  a  man  in  their  path :  he  was  known 
to  them,  and  had  been  killed  and  scalped  by  the  Indians. 
They  returned  to  the  camp,  and  the  next  day,  having  been 
joined  by  others,  among  whom  was  Felix  St.  Vrain,  Indian 
agent  of  the  Sacs  and  Foxes,  they  proceeded  to  Buffalo 
Grove,  and  buried  the  body  which  had  been  found  there. 
The  party  then  went  on  their  way  toward  Hamilton's  settle 
ment,  Wiota,  and  on  the  following  day  they  were  attacked  by 
a  body  of  Indians,  and  four  of  them  were  killed ;  among  them 
was  the  agent,  St.  Vrain ;  the  others,  after  being  closely  fol 
lowed  for  near  two  days  by  Indians,  finally  reached  Galena 
in  safety.2 

St.  Vrain  had  been  peculiarly  obnoxious  in  the  eyes  of 
Black  Hawk's  band,  in  consequence  of  the  part  he  had  taken 
in  regard  to  their  removal  from  their  village  at  Kock  Island : 
it  is  said  that  the  party  which  murdered  him  was  led  by  a 
chief  called  "  The  Little  Bear,"  who  had  been  a  particular 
friend  of  the  agent,  and  had  adopted  him  as  a  brother ;  he 
had  been  an  inmate  of  St.  Vrain's  household,  and  of  course 


1  Doc.  Hist.     Miss  Hall's  Account. 

2  See  Note  C.     Also  Doc.  Hist.  Black  Hawk  War. 


268  HISTORY  OF  WISCONSIN. 

the  agent  might  have  had  little  cause  to  fear  so  fatal  a  termi- 
mation  of  their  meeting  on  the  prairie.  After  the  war,  some 
unsuccessful  attempts  were  made  to  bring  the  murderers  to 
justice.1 

Although  the  main  body  of  Black  Hawk's  army,  which  is> 
said  to  have  been  composed  in  all  of  about  six  hundred  men, 
was  stationed  on  Rock  River,  in  the  vicinity  of  Lake  Kosh- 
konong,  yet  a  predatory  war  was  still  carried  on  by  small  de 
tached  parties  in  many  parts  of  the  country  at  considerable 
distances  from  each  other.  Hence  arose  the  necessity  of  a 
constant  vigilance  on  the  part  of  the  volunteer  militia  not 
attached  to  the  army,  and  of  every  settler  in  the  country:  as 
the  hour  of  an  Indian  attack  could  very  seldom  be  antici 
pated,  and  the  distance  of  the  army  from  the  scene  of  these 
predatory  excursions  of  the  Indians,  rendered  a  personal 
defence  almost  the  only  reliable  one.  Of  such  attacks  by 
Indian  parties,  were  those  at  Mound  Fort,  Plum  River,  Apple 
River,  Spafford's  Creek,  Hamilton's  Fort,  which  resulted  in 
the  battle  of  the  Pecatonica,  Kellogg's  Grove,  Sinsinawa 
Mound,  and  other  points,  besides  the  several  murders  com 
mitted  on  individuals,  found,  unfortunately  for  themselves,, 
alone  and  unprotected.  In  fact,  as  has  been  remarked,  "the 
Indians  had  now  shown  themselves  to  be  a  courageous,  active, 
and  enterprising  enemy.  They  had  scattered  their  war-parties 
all  over  the  North,  from  Chicago  to  Galena,  and  from  the 
Illinois  River  into  the  Territory  of  Wisconsin  :  they  occupied 
every  grove,  waylaid  every  road,  hung  around  every  settle 
ment,  and  attacked  every  party  of  white  men  that  attempted 
to  penetrate  the  country."2 

Early  in  June,  a  party  of  Indians  made  an  attack  on  a 
block-house  situate  near  the  mouth  of  Plum  River,  below 
Galena,  and  after  endeavouring  for  about  an  hour  ineffectu 
ally  to  storm  it,  they  retired  without  having  effected  any  de 
struction  of  lives.3 


1  See  Note  C.  2  Ford's  Illinois,  128. 

a  Doc.  Hist.  Black  Hawk  War. 


BLACK   HAWK   IN   WISCONSIN.  269 

About  the  18th  of  June,  a  party  of  volunteers  from  Galena, 
under  the  command  of  Captain  James  W.  Stephenson,  were 
on  the  look  out  for  Indians,  in  the  neighbourhood  of  the  Pe- 
catonica.  A  party  of  the  enemy  was  discovered  and  pursued 
into  a  dense  thicket  in  the  prairie ;  the  volunteers  commenced 
a  rapid  fire  upon  them,  but  the  Indians,  having  the  advantage 
of  the  cover,  succeeded  in  killing  a  few  of  Captain  Stephen- 
son's  men,  and  he  ordered  a  retreat.  But  neither  he  nor  his 
men  were  willing  to  give  up  the  fight,  and  they  resolved  to 
return  and  charge  into  the  thicket  upon  the  Indians.  This 
was  done  promptly  and  courageously,  the  captain  leading  the 
way  ;  but  they  had  scarcely  penetrated  the  cover  twenty  steps 
when  they  received  the  fire  of  the  Indians,  which  was  instantly 
returned ;  the  charge  was  made  a  second  and  third  time,  each 
party  giving  and  receiving  the  fire  of  his  enemy,  until  three 
of  Captain  Stephenson's  men  being  killed,  and  himself  se 
verely  wounded,  he  found  it  necessary  to  retreat,  having  but 
a  small  part  of  his  company  then  with  him.  This  attack, 
although  in  a  measure  unsuccessful,  was  certainly  one  of  dar 
ing  courage  :  it  is  said  that  Black  Hawk  himself  was  present 
in  the  fight.1 

Towards  the  last  of  June  an  attempt  was  made  by  a  con 
siderable  body  of  warriors  to  surprise  the  fort  at  Buffalo 
Grove,  a  few  miles  to  the  north  of  Dixon's  Ferry.  It  was 
guarded  by  a  force  of  one  hundred  and  fifty  militia,  who  were 
prepared  to  meet  them,  and  a  sharp  contest  ensued.  Sixteen 
of  the  Indians  were  killed  before  they  retreated.  Few  of  the 
whites  were  wounded,  but  the  garrison  was  in  great  fear  of 
being  cut  off,  as  their  ammunition  was  expended  before  the 
arrival  of  a  reinforcement,  which  had  been  sent  for  while  the 
attack  was  going  on.2 

At  this  time  also,  about  June  24th,  Black  Hawk,  with  a 
considerable  body  of  Indians,  believed  to  be  near  one  hun 
dred  and  fifty,  made  an  attack  on  Apple  River  Fort,  near  the 
present  village  of  Elizabeth,  which  was  defended  by  twenty- 

i  Ford's  Illinois,  128.     Drake's  Indian  Biog.  648.  2  Idem. 


270  HISTORY   OF   WISCONSIN. 

five  men,  under  Captain  Stone.  The  attack  was  a  fearful 
one,  as  the  Indians  had  got  possession  of  the  log-houses,  and 
from  these  opened  their  fire  on  the  fort  with  much  security, 
while  they  were  committing  every  act  of  devastation  on  the 
provisions  and  property  in  the  houses.  The  battle  was  kept 
up  for  about  fifteen  hours,  when  the  Indians  retreated,  having 
lost  several  of  their  party,  but  the  number  was  not  known,  as 
they  carried  all  away  with  them ;  they  also  took  with  them  a 
considerable  quantity  of  provisions,  and  a  number  of  cattle 
and  horses :  the  loss  of  the  whites  was  one  man  killed  and 
one  wounded.1 

Major  John  Dement,  who  commanded  a  spy  battalion  at 
tached  to  the  army,  had  a  severe  contest  with  Black  Hawk's 
band,  on  the  25th  of  June,  near  Kellogg's  Grove.  Major 
Dement  had  heard,  on  his  arrival  there,  that  a  large  trail  had 
been  discovered,  and  he  set  out  in  advance  of  his  party  with 
twenty  men,  at  daylight  next  morning,  to  gain  intelligence 
of  the  movements  of  the  enemy.  He  soon  discovered  a 
small  party  of  Indians,  who  were  pursued  by  some  of  his  men, 
but  fearing  an  ambuscade,  he  endeavoured  to  call  them  back. 
But  he  still  proceeded  with  caution,  and  being  followed  by 
some  of  his  men  from  the  camp,  he  formed  about  twenty-five 
of  them  into  line  on  the  prairie,  to  protect  a  retreat.  Scarcely 
was  this  done  when  a  force  of  three  hundred  Indians  issued 
from  the  grove  to  attack  him.  They  approached  with  their 
accustomed  yelling  and  firing,  and  the  major  slowly  and 
prudently  retired  to  his  camp,  closely  pursued  by  the  Indians. 
Here  his  whole  party  took  possession  of  some  log-houses 
which  answered  for  a  fort,  and  they  were  here  vigorously 
attacked  by  the  Indians  for  nearly  an  hour.  An  express  was 
sent  to  General  Posey  for  relief,  and  he  marched  with  his 
whole  brigade  for  that  purpose,  but  did  not  arrive  until  after 
the  retreat  of  the  Indians.  There  was  great  courage  and 
prudent  conduct  displayed  by  Major  Dement,  in  this  affair ; 


» Doc.  Hist.  Black  Hawk  War.     Ford's  Illinois,  126.     Drake's  Indian  Biog. 
648. 


BLACK  HAWK  IN  WISCONSIN.  271 

it  even  called  forth  the  decided  applause  of  Black  Hawk  him 
self:1  the  loss  of  the  Americans  was  five  killed  and  three 
wounded;  and  on  the  part  of  the  Indians,  nine  left  dead  on 
the  field,  and  probably  five  others  carried  away.  General 
Posey  here  awaited  the  arrival  of  his  baggage-wagons,  and 
afterward  proceeded  to  Fort  Hamilton,  where  he  was  joined 
by  Colonel  Dodge's  command. 

On  the  29th  of  June,  three  men  were  attacked  in  a  field 
near  Sinsiniwa  Mound,  and  two  of  them,  John  Thompson  and 
James  Boxley,  were  killed.  Captain  Stephenson  marched 
from  Galena  in  pursuit  of  the  murderers,  but  they  had 
reached  the  Mississippi,  and  escaped  by  crossing  it  in  a 
canoe. 

In  the  latter  part  of  May,  Colonel  Dodge  assembled  a 
company  of  fifty  mounted  volunteers,  commanded  by  Captains 
James  H.  Gentry  and  John  H.  Rountree,  and  proceeded  with 
them  to  the  head  of  the  Four  Lakes,  where  on  the  25th  of 
the  month  he  held  a  talk  with  the  Winnebagoes.  He  desired 
to  know  their  intentions  as  to  the  Sacs  ;  whether  or  not  they 
would  aid,  counsel,  or  harbour  them  in  their  country;  if  they 
would,  it  would  be  considered  as  a  declaration  of  war  on  their 
part.  He  told  them  that  the  Sacs  had  lied  to  them  and  given 
them  bad  counsel,  wishing  to  draw  them  into  the  same  situa 
tion  with  themselves ;  and  that  if  they  (the  Winnebagoes) 
were  unfaithful  to  their  treaties,  they  must  expect  to  share 
the  fate  of  the  Sacs.2 

The  Winnebagoes  made  all  fair  promises  to  be  faithful  to 
their  treaties  and  remain  at  peace.  This  was  the  same 
council  of  which  we  have  spoken  as  held  by  the  agent 
Gratiot. 

In  the  mean  time  the  inhabitants  of  the  mining  region 
(Iowa  county)  had  erected  the  following  forts,  block-houses, 
and  stockades  for  the  protection  and  defence  of  their  families, 
and  into  which  they  removed : 

»  Doc.  Hist  Black  Hawk  War.     Ford's  Illinois,  129.  «  See  Note  A, 


272  HISTORY  OF  WISCONSIN. 

Fort  Union  ....  Head  Quarters.     Colonel  Dodge's  residence, 

near  Dodgeville. 
Fort  Defiance  . .  At  the  farm  of  Daniel  M.  Parkinson,  about 

five  miles  south-east  of  Mineral  Point. 
Fort  Hamilton . .  At  William  S.  Hamilton's  lead  diggings,  now 

Wiota. 

Fort  Jackson ...  At  Mineral  Point. 
Mound  Fort ....  On  the  high  prairie,  about  a  mile  and  a  half 

south  of  Ebenezer  Brigham's  residence, 

at  the  Blue  Mounds. 
Parish's  Fort ...  At  the  residence  of  Thomas  J.  Parish,  now 

Wingville. 

Forts  at  Cassville,  Platteville,  Gratiot's  Grove,  Diamond 
Grove,  White-Oak  Springs,  Old  Shullsburg,  Elk  Grove 
at  the  farm  of  Justus  De  Seelhorst. 

About  the  first  of  June,  Captain  Sherman,  who  commanded 
at  Mound  Fort,  fearing  an  attack  from  the  Indians,  sent  word 
of  his  apprehensions  to  Colonel  Dodge,  who  immediately  col 
lected  from  the  several  posts  some  two  hundred  mounted  men. 
These  proceeded  to  Mound  Fort  on  the  3d  of  June,  on  which 
day  the  two  girls  who  had  been  captured  by  the  Sacs,  were 
delivered  up  by  the  Winnebagoes,  in  consequence  of  a  reward 
having  been  offered  by  General  Atkinson  for  their  recovery.1 
Colonel  Dodge  did  not  place  the  utmost  reliance  on  the  faith 
of  these  Winnebagoes,  believing  they  were  acting  as  spies ; 
and  he  therefore  advised  them  to  cross  the  Wisconsin  to  the 
northern  side,  for  their  safety,  as  the  whites  could  not  distin 
guish  the  red  men,  and  knew  not  a  Winnebago  from  any  other 
Indian.  They  promised  to  follow  his  counsel,  but  did  not. 
The  detachment  of  volunteers  returned  to  Fort  Union,  and 
the  next  day  proceeded  to  Gratiot's  Grove,  where  they  were 
joined  by  Captain  Stephenson's  company  of  volunteers  from 
Galena. 

On  the  6th  of  June,  one  James  Aubrey,  an  intimate  of 


Doc.  History. 


BLACK  HAWK  IN  WISCONSIN.  273 

Colonel  Brigham's  family,  at  the  Blue  Mounds,  was  killed  by 
the  Sacs,  while  getting  water  at  the  spring  near  the  dwelling- 
house  :  this  was  about  one  mile  and  a  half  north  of  the  Mound 
Fort,  but  in  sight  of  it.  It  has  been  since  well  ascertained 
that  the  Sacs  had  been  piloted  to  this  place  by  certain  Win- 
nebagoes ;  suspicion  ever  attached  to  this  treacherous  people. 

From  Gratiot's  Grove,  Colonel  Dodge's  command  proceeded 
on  their  march,  and  at  Kirker's  farm,  where  they  camped,  the 
Colonel  delivered  a  very  spirited  address  to  the  volunteers, 
recommending  to  them  union,  vigilance,  discipline,  and  obe 
dience  to  orders.  He  advised  them  to  have  full  confidence  in 
the  Government  and  its  officers,  but  that  its  assistance  might 
arrive  too  late ;  therefore  it  well  became  them  not  to  wait  the 
arrival  of  the  enemy  at  their  doors,  but  to  advance  and  fight 
them,  watch  them,  and  hold  them  in  check ;  to  lie  down  with 
their  arms  in  their  hands,  and  to  rise  ready  to  form  the  line. 
His  address  was  received  by  the  volunteers  with  its  deserved 
effect.1 

The  command  proceeded  to  the  scene  of  the  murder  of  St. 
Vrain,  Fowler,  Hale,  and  Hawley ;  they  buried  the  bodies 
of  the  three  former ;  the  body  of  Hawley  was  never  found. 
Here  Captain  Stephenson's  company  separated  and  returned 
to  Galena ;  Colonel  Dodge  with  the  remainder  of  the  com 
mand  proceeded  to  the  camp  of  the  regular  troops  at  Dixon's 
Ferry  on  Rock  River.  General  Hugh  Brady  was  here  in  com 
mand,  who  wras  escorted  by  Colonel  Dodge  and  twenty-five 
of  his  volunteers  to  the  rapids  of  the  Illinois  River,  now 
Ottawa,  which  was  General  Atkinson's  head-quarters,  and 
where  the  general  then  was  engaged  in  organizing  three  bri 
gades  of  Illinois  volunteers  :  this  was  on  the  llth  of  June, 
and  at  this  time,  doubtless,  the  plan  of  the  campaign  was 
agreed  upon,  and  Colonel  Dodge  received  his  orders.2 

From  head-quarters,  Colonel  Dodge  returned  to  Gratiot's 
Grove,  where  his  whole  command  were  dismissed  to  their 
posts  :  this  was  on  the  14th  of  June,  and  on  the  same  day  the 


i  See  Note  D.  2  gee  Note  E. 

VOL.  L— 18 


274  HISTORY  OF  WISCONSIN. 

murder,  by  the  Sacs,  of  the  men  at  Spafford's  farm 
occurred.1 

The  news  of  these  murders  was  brought  by  express  to 
Colonel  Dodge,  on  the  same  evening  that  he  had  arrived  at 
home ;  and  he  despatched  an  express  that  night  to  Captain 
Gentry  to  muster  immediately  what  men  he  could,  and  meet 
him  at  Hamilton  Fort.  The  next  morning  the  Colonel  pro 
ceeded  with  two  companions,  Major  Thomas  Jenkins,  and  John 
Messersmith,  Jr.,  by  way  of  the  Blue  Mounds,  to  Wiota. 
They  camped  at  night  at  Fretwell's  diggings,  and  the  next 
morning  by  eight  o'clock  they  were  within  half  a  mile  of 
Hamilton's  Fort.  Here  they  were  met  by  a  German,  named 
Apple,  who  said  he  was  going  to  his  cabin,  some  small  dis 
tance  off,  to  get  his  blanket,  in  order  to  join  Gentry  and  his 
volunteers,  who  had  arrived  at  the  fort  the  previous  evening. 
The  German  left  them,  and  Dodge  proceeded  to  the  fort. 
In  an  instant,  firing  was  heard,  and  the  horse  which  the 
German  rode  came  galloping  back,  bloody,  and  without  the 
rider.  The  Indians  had  been  in  ambush  near  the  path  which 
Colonel  Dodge  had  taken,  but  on  the  main  road  to  the  fort, 
and,  in  all  probability,  his  having  taken  the  nigher  path 
saved  his  life,  and  the  German  became  the  victim. 

On  the  day  previous,  a  number  of  the  volunteers  from  Fort 
Defiance,  having  heard  of  the  murders  at  Spafford's  farm, 
had  proceeded  to  the  scene,  and  buried  the  dead  bodies ;  they 
had  returned  in  the  evening  to  Fort  Hamilton,  and  Captain 
Gentry  and  his  men  having  arrived,  they  were  now  at  this 
early  hour  in  the  morning  awaiting  the  arrival  of  Colonel 
Dodge,  to  go  in  search  of  the  enemy.  The  simultaneous  ar 
rival  of  their  commander,  with  the  report  of  the  rifles  and  the 
return  of  the  German's  horse  in  a  bloody  condition,  caused 
an  instant  excitement.  All  immediately  mounted,  and,  under 
the  lead  of  their  colonel,  they  rode  from  the  fort :  they  sooa 
found  the  mutilated  body  of  Apple  lying  in  the  road,  while  in 
the  hazel  thicket  skirting  the  road,  they  discovered  the 

>  POQ.  Hist.    Battle  of  Pecatonica,    Bracken's  Account. 


BLACK  HAWK  IN  WISCONSIN.  275 

ground  where  the  Indians  had  been  lying  in  ambush.  Their 
trail  was  soon  found  and  followed,  with  the  Indians  sometimes 
in  sight,  until  the  colonel  and  his  party  reached  the  banks  of 
the  east  branch  of  the  Pecatonica,  about  five  miles  from  Fort 
Hamilton. 

.  Although  the  Indians  were  not  then  seen,  it  was  pretty 
certain  that  they  were  concealed  in  the  thickets  and  behind 
the  sand-banks,  on  the  opposite  side  of  the  stream.  Colonel 
Dodge  here  ordered  his  men  to  dismount,  linked  the  horses 
together,  and  detailed  seven  of  his  men  to  take  charge  of 
them ;  he  had  previously  ordered  four  men  to  take  post  on 
the  high  grounds,  for  the  purpose  of  watching  the  course  of 
the  Indians,  in  case  they  attempted  flight.  With  the  re 
mainder  of  his  men,  twenty-one  in  all,  Colonel  Dodge  pre 
pared  for  a  charge  on  the  concealed  foe :  he  first  addressed 
them,  pointing  out  where  the  murderers  of  their  fellow  citizens 
were  then  lying,  ready  to  deal  death  among  those  who  should 
venture  to  attack  them ;  and  he  requested  those  only  to  fol 
low  him  in  whom  should  be  found  no  disposition  to  turn  and 
flee ;  if  any  such  were  there,  now  was  the  time  to  retract,  but 
never  while  engaged  with  the  enemy.  His  address  was  an 
swered  by  the  instant  forward  movement  of  the  whole  party, 
following  their  brave  and  energetic  leader,  wading  through 
the  Pecatonica  River,  and  with  difficulty  gaming  the  firm 
ground  on  the  opposite  bank. 

.  The  party  were  then  ordered  to  trail  arms  and  keep  a  look 
out  for  the  Indians  :  in  less  than  five  minutes,  the  enemy,  who 
were  lying  concealed  behind  the  sand-banks  and  in  the  cavi 
ties  caused  by  the  floods  of  the  river,  delivered  their  fire,  by 
which  three  of  the  volunteers  fell,  two  mortally  wounded,  the 
third  seriously ;  the  battle  was  then  literally  fought  hand  to 
hand,  and  the  desperate  conflict  was  short  and  decisive ;  not 
an  Indian  escaped  to  tell  the  tale  of  the  defeat.  Seventeen 
of  the  Sacs  were  in  the  fight,  and  at  its  close  eleven  dead 
bodies  were  found  on  the  ground,  while  six  other  dead  bodies 
were  some  time  afterward  found  in  the  immediate  vicinity : 
the  wounded  Indians  had  crawled  and  secreted  themselves  in 


276  HISTORY  OF   WISCONSIN". 

the  thickets,  where  they  soon  died.  Black  Hawk  is  said  to 
have  remarked,  after  the  war,  that  there  was  one  band  of 
seventeen  of  his  braves,  of  whose  fate  he  had  never  heard. 
Of  Colonel  Dodge's  men,  three  were  killed,  one  wounded.  --\ 

Some  idea  of  the  length  of  time  occupied  in  this  desperate 
hand-to-hand  conflict,  may  be  gathered  from  the  words  of  one 
of  the  volunteers: — "I  fired  my  yager;  let  it  drop — drew  out 
my  left  pistol ;  fired  it  at  an  Indian — let  the  pistol  fall — drew 
out  my  right  pistol ;  fired  at  another  Indian — was  pouring 
powder  in  my  hand  to  reload,  when  one  of  our  company  said, 
<  They  are  all  dead!'"1 

Before  this  time,  Colonel  William  S.  Hamilton  had  gone  up 
the  Mississippi  to  endeavour  to  procure  assistance  from  the 
Sioux  and  the  Chippewas  against  the  Sacs  and  Foxes.  On 
the  morning  of  the  battle  of  Pecatonica,  he  had  arrived  at 
his  fort,  together  with  Mr.  Levi  Marsh,  of  Prairie  du  Chien, 
having  under  their  charge  two  hundred  Indians  of  the  two 
nations  Sioux  and  Chippewas.  When  Colonel  Dodge  returned 
to  the  fort,  the  Indians  no  sooner  heard  of  the  fight  than 
they  hastened  to  the  battle-ground,  and  held  a  pow-wow  over 
the  dead  bodies,  which  they  actually  cut  to  pieces.  These 
Indians,  for  some  cause,  perhaps  want  of  means  on  the  part 
of  Colonel  Dodge  to  subsist  them,  or  unwillingness  without 
further  orders  to  employ  them,  became  dissatisfied,  and  re 
turned  up  the  Mississippi  the  next  day.2 
!P  On  the  20th  of  June,  some  Indians  were  discovered  in  the 
vicinity  of  Mound  Fort;  and  Lieutenant  Force,  and  one 
Green,  whose  family  was  in  the  fort,  mounted  their  horses 
and  rode  out  to  reconnoitre.  In  a  short  time  they  fell  into  an 
ambush  of  the  Sacs,  about  two  miles  in  front,  and  in  imme 
diate  view  from  the  fort :  the  unfortunate  men  were  plainly 
seen  endeavouring  to  escape  to  the  fort,  but  they  were  both 
soon  surrounded  and  killed  by  the  savages,  who  mutilated  the 
bodies  in  a  most  horrible  manner.  The  information  was  sent 


1  Doc.  Hist.    Bracken's  account  of  the  battle  of  Pecatonica,     See  Note  F. 

2  Doc.  Hist,     Colonel  Dodge's  official  account, 


BLACK  HAWK  IN  WISCONSIN.  277 

to  Colonel  Dodge,  who  immediately  assembled  a  detachment 
of  volunteers,  and  made  a  night  march,  by  way  of  the  Blue 
Mounds,  as  far  as  Sugar  River,  in  search  of  the  Sacs.  At 
Sugar  River  their  trail  appeared  to  be  scattered,  as  if 
they  had  dispersed,  and  the  volunteers  returned  to  Fort 
Union;  on  their  way  they  buried  the  body  of  Lieutenant 
Force  by  the  side  of  the  road,  under  one  of  the  few  trees 
growing  on  the  edge  of  the  prairie :  the  body  of  Green  had 
been  buried  two  or  three  days  before  by  the  people  at  Mound 
Fort.  This  expedition  of  Colonel  Dodge  was  about  the  24th 
of  June.1 

,  Immediately  after  this,  in  pursuance,  no  doubt,  of  the  plan 
of  the  campaign,  as  formed  at  head-quarters,  Colonel  Dodge, 
with  his  immediate  command,  met  Brigadier-General  Posey 
with  his  brigade  at  Fort  Hamilton :  these  commands  com 
posed  the  left  wing  of  the  army.  General  Alexander's  com 
mand  formed  the  centre  ;  General  Atkinson,  with  General 
Henry's  brigade,  formed  the  right  wing,  and  advanced  up 
Rock  River.  The  left  wing  marched  across  the  country  by 
the  way  of  the  Pecatonica  battle-ground  and  Sugar  River,  to 
the  first  of  the  Four  Lakes.  At  Sugar  River,  they  were  rein 
forced  by  the  Galena  company  of  volunteers,  and  at  the  First 
Lake  they  were  joined  by  the  «  White  Crow,"  and  about  thirty 
Winnebago  warriors,  who  avowed  their  purpose  of  showing 
the  army  the  path  of  the  Sacs  and  Foxes. 

General  Atkinson  was  at  this  time  encamped,  with  his 
portion  of  the  army  at  the  outlet  of  Lake  Koshkonong,  where 
he  had  been  joined  by  General  Alexander's  brigade.  Some 
cause  of  dissatisfaction  having  occurred  between  Colonel 
Dodge's  command  and  General  Posey's  brigade,  a  change  of 
position  was  effected,  whereby  General  Alexander's  command 
was  associated  with  that  of  Colonel  Dodge,  while  Posey's 
brigade  assumed  the  station  which  Alexander's  had  occupied. 
Colonel  Dodge  then  moved  up  the  right  bank  of  Rock  River, 

1  Doc.  Hist.     Beouchard's  Narrative. 


278  HISTORY  OF  WISCONSIN. 

accompanied  by  the  White  Crow  and  his  band,  who  professed 
to  guide  them  to  the  camp  of  Black  Hawk. 

The  march  was  continued  for  two  days,  until  Rock  River 
was  reached,  a  short  distance  above  the  mouth  of  Bark  River, 
at  which  point  the  White  Crow  was  anxious  that  Alexander 
and  Dodge  should  turn  their  march  up  Rock  River.  But  an 
express  had  arrived  from  General  Atkinson  requiring  support 
from  this  portion  of  the  army,  in  consequence  of  some  alarms 
from  the  enemy  near  his  own  station.  In  pursuance  of  these 
orders  Alexander  and  Dodge  retraced  their  steps  and  crossed 
Rock  River  immediately  below  the  mouth  of  Bark  River,  and 
found  General  Atkinson  encamped  about  three  or  four  miles 
up  Bark  River. 

It  appeared  subsequently,  by  discovery  of  the  trail  and 
other  evidences  by  the  scouting  parties,  that  a  considerable 
ambush  had  been  formed  on  the  east  bank  of  Rock  River,  at 
a  point  where  the  detachment  under  Alexander  and  Dodge 
would  have  been  obliged  to  cross  the  river,  at  a  very  rocky 
ford,  dangerous  of  course  for  horses.  It  was  not  without 
reason  supposed  that  the  "Blind,  or  White  Crow"  was  acting 
in  concert  with  Black  Hawk,  and  was  treacherously  guiding 
the  army  to  this  point,  when  they  received  General  Atkin 
son's  orders  by  the  express,  and  returned  to  Bark  River. 
The  White  Crow  had  been  suspected  by  Colonel  Dodge  when 
he  was  at  the  Blue  Mounds :  he  had  at  that  time  promised  to 
cross  the  Wisconsin,  but  had  not  complied. 

General  Atkinson  finding  his  camp  straitened  for  want  of 
provisions,  despatched  about  two  hundred  and  fifty  men,  under 
the  respective  commands  of  Alexander,  Posey,  Henry,  and 
Dodge,  to  Fort  Winnebago  for  supplies.  The  detachment 
were  ordered  to  return  by  the  same  route  which  they  went, 
but  with  permission,  in  case  the  Indian  trail  was  discovered, 
to  follow  it.  The  command  reached  Fort  Winnebago,  and 
having  received  the  supplies,  a  consultation  was  had  by  the 
officers,  on  the  route  of  return.  Colonel  Dodge  suggested  the 
idea  of  crossing  Rock  River  higher  up,  so  as  to  throw  the 
Indians,  if  they  were  in  the  vicinity,  between  themselves  and 


BLACK  HAWK  IN  WISCONSIN.  279 

. 

rest  of  the  army  under  General  Atkinson.  In  the  pro 
priety  of  this  movement  General  Henry  and  his  officers 
agreed,  while  Generals  Posey  and  Alexander  dissented,  who 
therefore  retraced  their  steps  in  pursuance  of  orders. 
|  Henry's  and  Dodge's  commands  marched  eastward  and 
struck  Rock  River  at  the  Rapids,  (near  Hustisford,)  from 
which  an  express  was  sent  to  General  Atkinson's  camp ;  but 
the  express  quickly  returned  with  information  that  the  ene 
my's  trail  was  discovered.  Pursuit  commenced  immediately, 
and  the  trail  was  followed  down  the  river,  until  it  diverged 
from  it,  westward.  The  detachment  crossed  the  Crawfish 
Kiver  near  Aztalan,  and  followed  the  trail,  which  bore  to  the 
west  of  Keyes's  Lake,  (Rock  Lake;)  it  was  still  followed  west 
ward  until  the  ground  between  the  Third  and  Fourth  Lakes 
was  reached,  now  the  site  of  Madison ;  thence  it  was  followed 
around  the  southern  end  of  the  Fourth  Lake,  where  it  appeared 
that  an  admirable  position  for  a  battle-ground,  with  natural 
defences,  and  places  of  ambush,  had  been  chosen  by  the  enemy, 
and  here  they  had  apparently  lain  the  previous  night ;  this 
place  was  near  Slaughter's  farm.  The  pursuit  continued  this 
day,  July  21st,  with  occasional  glimpses  of  straggling  Indians, 
some  of  whom  were  killed,  until  about  five  o'clock  in  the  after 
noon,  when  the  highlands  or  bluffs  of  the  Wisconsin  River  were 
reached ;  and  here  was  Black  Hawk  with  his  retreating  band, 
supposed  to  be  five  or  six  hundred  in  number,  preparing  to 
cross  the  Wisconsin  River,  with  their  women  and  children.  At 
the  time  of  the  arrival  of  the  army,  the  Indians  had  descended 
the  bluffs  and  were  in  the  low  grounds  which  skirt  the  river. 

In  the  ardour  of  pursuit,  the  immediate  commands  of 
Colonel  Dodge  and  Colonel  William  L.  D.  Ewing  had  out 
stripped  the  rest  of  General  Henry's  brigade,  and  on  their 
arrival  at  the  bluffs  they  were  met  by  the  spy  company  which 
had  preceded  them,  and  were  now  driven  in,  with  informa 
tion  that  the  enemy  was  in  sight.  Dodge's  command,  with 
Ewing's  in  its  centre,  having  dismounted,  immediately  formed 
.the  line  and  advanced  to  the  edge  of  the  bluffs,  where  they 
.were  met  by  the  enemy,  who  were  in  pursuit  of  the  spy  com- 


280  HISTORY  OF  WISCONSIN. 

pany :  the  battle  began,  and  the  Indians  were  repulsed.  The 
position  of  Colonel  Dodge  was  maintained  under  a  heavy  fire 
for  about  an  hour,  when  General  Henry's  brigade  arrived, 
which  deploying  to  the  right  and  left,  formed  the  line  of 
battle,  leaving  Dodge's  command  in  the  centre. 
;  The  battle  began  about  five  o'clock  in  the  afternoon,  and 
about  sundown  the  firing  had  ceased,  as  a  general  matter, 
on  both  sides ;  a  rain  had  fallen,  and  the  high  grass  in  the 
bottom-land  being  thus  wet,  it  was  found  impracticable  for 
the  men  to  keep  their  arms  dry  in  passing  through  it.  The 
loss  of  the  enemy  must  have  been  very  severe  compared  with 
that  of  the  Americans :  it  has  never  been  accurately  known 
•what  number  Black  Hawk  lost,  but  it  is  believed  that  more 
than  sixty  were  killed  in  the  battle,  and  a  great  number  of 
dead  bodies  were  afterward  found  on  the  northern  side  of 
the  Wisconsin  River  on  the  route  to  Bad  Axe :  these  had, 
many  of  them,  doubtless  died  from  wounds  received  in  the 
battle.  The  American  loss  was  one  killed  and  eight  wounded. 
The  White  Crow  and  his  Winnebagoes,  together  with  Pierre 
Pacquette  their  interpreter  were  in  the  battle ;  they  had  ac 
companied  the  detachment  from  Fort  Winnebago  to  the  Rock 
River  Rapids,  and  also  on  the  pursuit  of  the  trail  from  its 
discovery  until  this  time.  After  the  battle,  they  all  left  the 
army  in  the  night,  and  returned  to  Fort  Winnebago :  perhaps 
this  was  an  unfortunate  movement  for  Black  Hawk's  band, 
for  during  the  night  the  voice  of  an  Indian  was  heard  hailing 
the  American  camp,  and  speaking  in  an  Indian  tongue  which 
was  not  understood  ;  it  was  afterward  learned  that  he  was 
speaking  in  the  Winnebago  language,  under  the  belief  that 
the  "White  Crow"  and  his  chiefs  were  still  in  the  camp,  and 
the  purport  of  the  speech  was  an  offer  on  the  part  of  Black 
Hawk  to  surrender,  which  he  wished  to  be  made  known  to  the 
American  commander.  The  absence  of  the  White  Crow  and 
of  Pacquette  may  thus  have  been  unfortunate,  as  there  is  no 
doubt  of  the  wretched  situation  in  which  Black  Hawk's  de 
luded  followers  were  then  placed.  Sickness,  debility,  and  ab 
solute  starvation  pervaded  his  whole  band ;  the  women  and 


BLACK  HAWK  IN  WISCONSIN.  281 

children  -were  of  course  the  greatest  sufferers ;  the  difficulty 
of  getting  them  across  the  Wisconsin  in  the  face  of  a  pursu 
ing  foe,  was  only  a  forerunner  of  the  multitude  of  evils 
•which  lay  in  his  path  of  retreat  to  the  Mississippi ;  and 
the  fatal  consequences  of  another  battle,  either  on  such 
retreat,  or  on  an  attempt  to  cross  the  broad  and  deep  Missis 
sippi,  when  its  banks  were  reached,  by  a  crowd  of  helpless 
fugitives,  all  must  have  presented  themselves  to  the  mind  of 
Black  Hawk  in  their  true  light,  or  have  by  this  time  been 
forced  there,  even  if  his  delusive  hopes  of  ultimate  success 
still  continued.  It  is  therefore  highly  probable  that  an  at 
tempt  to  communicate  his  willingness  to  surrender  was  made 
in  the  manner  mentioned. 

In  the  morning  after  the  battle,  it  was  ascertained  that  all 
the  Indians  had  crossed  the  Wisconsin  during  the  night-time, 
and  they  now  had  disappeared.  This  day  the  country  was 
scoured  all  around ;  expresses  were  sent  to  General  Atkinson 
and  to  the  commanding  officer  at  Prairie  du  Chien,  with  in 
formation  of  the  battle  and  retreat  of  the  enemy  ;  and  litters 
were  prepared  for  the  wounded.  On  the  day  following,  the 
army  inarched  to  the  Blue  Mounds,  where  Colonel  Dodge's 
command,  including  Captain  Stephenson's  Galena  company 
were  dismissed.1 

In  the  mean  time,  General  Atkinson  broke  up  his  camp  at 
Bark  River,  and  marched  by  way  of  the  Blue  Mounds  to  He 
lena,  on  the  Wisconsin  River.  Here  the  volunteers  under 
Colonel  Dodge  were  again  assembled,  and  the  whole  army 
crossed  the  Wisconsin,  and  discovered  the  trail  of  the  re 
treating  Sacs,  under  the  bluffs  on  the  northern  side  of  the 
river.  The  trail  was  marked  by  the  bodies  of  Indians  who 
had  died  of  wounds  and  of  disease ;  perhaps  of  debility  pro 
duced  by  want  of  adequate  food ;  perhaps  of  absolute  starva 
tion  ;  the  march  was  thus  rendered  in  all  respects  very  of 
fensive  and  distressing  to  the  feelings  of  the  brave  and  hu 
mane  soldier.  On  the  evening  of  the  first  of  August,  signs 

1  See  Note  G. 


282  HISTORY  OF  WISCONSIN. 

of  the  enemy  were  discovered,  and  some  stragglers  were 
killed. 

i,  The  line  of  march  was  taken  up  on  the  morning  of  the  2d 
of  August,  at  two  o'clock,  Colonel  Dodge's  command  forming 
the  advance,  supported  by  the  regular  troops  under  Colonel 
Zachary  Taylor.  About  sunrise  the  spy  company  reported 
that  they  were  up  with  the  enemy ;  orders  were  given  for  an 
immediate  advance  and  attack,  and  the  line  having  been 
formed,  it  was  advanced  about  a  mile  to  the  bluffs  of  the  Mis 
sissippi,  near  the  mouth  of  the  Bad  Axe  River,  where  the  battle 
took  place.  At  this  point  was  collected  Black  Hawk's  retreat 
ing  band  of  Sacs,  men,  women,  and  children,  endeavouring  to 
make  their  escape  from  their  justly  exasperated,  and  now 
highly  excited  enemy ;  and  here  was  to  terminate  the  epheme 
ral  career  of  Black  Hawk,  together  with  the  disturbances, 
massacres,  and  depredations  consequent  to  his  obstinate,  head 
long,  and  revengeful  course.  This  was  to  be  the  last  of  the 
bloody  battles  and  loss  of  human  life  of  which  the  miserable 
delusion  of  Black  Hawk  had  been  the  occasion.1 

On  the  morning  after  the  battle  of  Wisconsin  Heights, 
Captain  James  B.  Estes  had  been  despatched  with  information 
to  Prairie  du  Chien,  at  which  place  he  arrived  by  noon  of  the 
23d  of  July.  Colonel  Loomis,  then  in  command  of  Fort  Craw 
ford  sent  the  steamboat  Enterprise,  of  Galena,  up  the  Mis 
sissippi  to  Black  River.  At  Black  River  they  found  forty 
"Winnebagoes  with  twenty-eight  canoes,  collected  there  doubt 
less  to  aid  the  retreating  Sacs  to  cross  the  Mississippi.  These 
Winnebagoes  and  their  canoes  were  seized  and  brought  down 
to  Fort  Crawford  on  the  30th  of  July.  The  Enterprise  being 
a  slow  boat,  Colonel  Loomis  hired  the  steamboat  Warrior  to 
go  up  the  river  a  second  time.  On  the  first  of  August  this 
boat  ascended  the  river  (about  forty  miles)  to  the  mouth  of 
Bad  Axe  River,  and  here  found  the  Indians  on  the  east  bank 
of  the  Mississippi,  who  commenced  firing  on  the  boat ;  the 
fire  was  returned  from  the  boat  with  a  six-pounder,  and  the 

1  Doc.  Hist.     Bracken's  Account,  passim.     See  Note  G. 


BLACK  HAWK  IN  WISCONSIN.  283 

Indians  fled  into  the  woods.  The  boat  returned  the  same  night 
to  Prairie  du  Chien  for  wood,  and,  having  procured  it,  started 
back  about  midnight  and  arrived  at  the  lower  end  of  the  large 
island  below  the  mouth  of  Bad  Axe,  about  ten  o'clock  in  the 
morning  of  the  2d  of  August  ;  they  heard  firing  before  they 
reached  the  island  :  the  battle  had  already  begun.1 

There  are  two  islands  in  the  Mississippi  near  the  mouth  of 
Bad  Axe  ;  many  of  the  Indians  had  been  driven  on  to  these 
islands  by  our  troops  ;  the  steamboat  opened  a  fire  upon  them 
with  her  six-pounder,  and  Captain  Throckmorton  sent  two 
small  boats  ashore  to  bring  our  troops  over  to  the  islands. 
Four  trips  were  made,  and  Colonel  Zachary  Taylor  with  his  regu 
lars,  about  one  hundred  and  fifty  men,  were  landed  on  the  large 
island,  and  nearly  all  the  Indians  found  upon  it  were  killed. 
k  The  distance  from  the  main  shore  to  the  islands  is  about 
one  hundred  and  fifty  yards  :  it  appeared  that  the  Indians 
had  but  one  canoe  with  them,  and  they  had  to  swim  across  the 
slough,  so  that  many  of  them  were  drowned,  as  their  bodies 
were  found  next  day  below  the  islands. 

I*  Toward  the  close  of  the  battle,  General  Atkinson,  who  had 
now  arrived  with  the  main  body  of  the  army,  came  on  board 
the  steamboat  and  remained  there  until  the  close  of  the  con 
flict,  which  soon  terminated  in  the  total  destruction  of  a  very 
large  portion  of  Black  Hawk's  followers,  men,  women,  and 
children,  and  the  capture  and  dispersion  of  the  remainder.2  \ 
|»-  Black  Hawk  after  the  battle  fled  to  the  Winnebago  village 
at  Prairie  la  Crosse,  where  he  surrendered  himself  to  the 
chiefs  Cha-e-tar  and  the  One-eyed  Decorra,  who  brought  him 
and  the  Prophet  afterward  to  Prairie  du  Chien,  and  delivered 
them  up  as  prisoners  to  General  Street,  the  agent  of  the  Win- 
nebagoes,  on  the  27th  of  August,  1832. 
;  A  number  of  Black  Hawk's  people,  men,  women,  and  chil 
dren,  who  had  descended  the  Wisconsin  River  in  canoes,  after 
the  battle  on  the  Wisconsin  Bluffs,  were  taken  prisoners  above 
the  mouth  of  the  river  :  it  has  also  been  ascertained  that  a 


.  Hist,  Battle  of  Bad  Axe.  Este's  Account.          2Idem.  See  Note  H. 


284  HISTORY   OF   WISCONSIN. 

number  of  the  women  and  children  who  had  got  safely  across 
the  river  at  the  battle  of  Bad  Axe,  were  pursued  and  killed 
by  a  large  body  of  Sioux,  the  implacable  enemy  of  the  Sacs. 

The  dread  of  a  protracted  warfare  with  Black  Hawk  had 
caused  active  measures  on  part  of  Government.  In  addition 
to  the  regular  forces  under  General  Atkinson,  in  the  latter 
part  of  June,  General  Scott  with  nine  companies  of  artillery, 
hastened  from  the  seaboard,  by  way  of  the  lakes  to  Chicago. 
The  rapidity  of  his  military  movements  is  worthy  of  notice ; 
passing  from  Fortress  Monroe  on  the  Chesapeake,  to  Chicago 
at  the  southern  end  of  Lake  Michigan,  he  landed  his  forces 
at  Fort  Dearborn  on  the  8th  of  July,  having  transported  them 
eighteen  hundred  miles  in  eighteen  days.  But  the  conflict 
was  over  before  he  reached  the  scene  of  action.  In  July  and 
August,  Scott  and  his  force  contended  with  a  more  fatal  foe 
than  the  Indians  :  the  cholera  had  found  its  way  from  Canada 
up  the  St.  Lawrence,  by  Detroit,  where  it  first  seized  on  Scott's 
men,  and  thenceforth  his  camp  became  a  hospital.  It  was 
late  in  August  when  he  reached  the  Mississippi,  and  so  great 
were  the  ravages  of  the  disease,  that  the  aggregate  of  his 
losses  at  Detroit,  at  Fort  Gratiot,  on  Lake  Michigan,  at  Fort 
Dearborn,  and  at  Rock  Island,  exceeded  four  hundred  men.1 

The  loss  on  part  of  the  Americans  in  this  Indian  outbreak, 
independent  of  the  ravages  of  the  cholera,  and  the  murders 
committed  in  various  quarters  on  the  settlers  by  the  Indians, 
is  believed  to  be  about  fifty,  perhaps  some  less  than,  but  not 
exceeding  that  number.  The  loss  of  the  Indians  cannot  well 
be  known,  but  at  Pecatonica  it  was  seventeen ;  at  Wisconsin 
Heights  about  sixty,  and  at  Bad  Axe  about  one  hundred  and 
fifty  killed,  besides  thirty-nine  women  and  children  taken 
prisoners. 

Black  Hawk  was  afterward  sent  as  a  prisoner  to  Jefferson 
Barracks,  and  thence  was  taken,  together  with  some  of  his 
family,  to  Washington,  where  he  arrived  on  the  22d  of  April, 
1833.  After  an  interview  with  President  Jackson,  and  the 

1  See  Note  I. 


BLACK  HAWK  IN  WISCONSIN.  285 

assurance  given  to  him  by  the  President  that  the  Government 
would  compel  the  red  men  to  be  at  peace,  he  was  sent  to  For 
tress  Monroe.  The  prisoners  remained  here  until  June  4th, 
1833,  when  they  were  liberated  by  order  of  the  President. 
They  were  sent  home,  under  officers  appointed  to  conduct 
them  through  the  principal  cities  of  the  Union,  in  order  to 
impress  them  with  a  proper  sense  of  the  power  of  the  whites, 
and  the  utter  hopelessless  of  any  permanent  organized  resist 
ance  against  the  United  States  Government,  on  part  of  the 
Indians.  In  this,  there  is  every  reason  to  believe  that  success 
was  obtained;  Black  Hawk  ever  after  remained  quiet:  he 
died  October  3d,  1840,  in  Iowa  Territory,  and  was  buried  on 
the  banks  of  the  Mississippi.1 

Black  Hawk  always  alleged  that  the  cause  of  his  hostility 
against  the  Americans,  was  the  invalidity  of  the  treaty  of 
1804,  by  which  his  own  village  and  grounds  were  ceded  by 
individuals  of  the  Sac  and  Fox  tribes,  who  had  no  authority 
for  the  act ;  but  he  also  said,  when,  at  a  subsequent  treaty, 
(May,  1816,)  he  himself  had  "touched  the  quill,"  and  by 
which  treaty  the  same  territory  was  ceded,  that  he  knew  not 
what  he  was  signing,  and  that  he  was  therein  deceived  by  the 
agent  and  others,  who  did  not  correctly  explain  the  nature  of 
the  grant.  Doubtless,  the  indiscriminate,  and  to  a  great  ex 
tent,  lawless  spread  of  immigrating  population,  over  the  newly 
acquired  country  on  Rock  River,  and  the  actual  occupation 
of  his  own  village  by  the  Illinois  settlers,  accompanied  by  the 
forcible  ejection  of  his  own  family  and  others  of  his  band  from 
their  happy  homes,  created  a  rankling  wound,  which  nothing 
less  than  the  shedding  of  the  blood  of  the  whites  could  even 
cicatrize,  much  less  effectually  cure.  Yet  he  denied  that  he 
had  gone  to  war  willingly,  and  asserted  that  when  his  flag  of 
truce  was  fired  upon  by  Stillman's  men,  his  intention  had  been 
to  surrender;  but  as  he  was  forced  into  a  combat,  he  said  to 
his  people,  "  Since  they  will  fight  us,  let  us  fight."2 


1  Doc.  Hist.  Black  Hawk  War. 

2  Related  by  John  Shaw,  of  Marquette  county. 


286  HISTORY  OF  WISCONSIN. 

He  could  scarcely  have  a  hope  of  success  in  his  warlike 
enterprise,  as  he  was  not  supported  by  Keokuk,  nor  by  many 
other  chiefs  of  the  Sacs  and  Foxes  west  of  the  Mississippi : 
his  expected  aid  (according  to  his  own  account)  from  the 
British  and  the  Pottawatamies  had  totally  failed  him;  and 
even  the  Winnebagoes,  who  were  certainly  his  friends,  but  who1 
were  kept  in  salutary  check  by  the  energies  of  the  inhabitants 
of  the  mining  country,  could  render  him  no  effectual  assistance, 
however  treacherously  they  were  inclined.  His  cause  was 
hopeless  from  the  commencement  of  his  obstinate  and  deluded 
career ;  still,  his  short  course  was  vindictive  and  bloody,  and 
his  chastisement,  heavily  as  it  fell  upon  his  people,  was  merited, 
and  became  necessary,  although  its  infliction  caused  the  ex 
penditure  of  much  national  treasure,  and  was  obtained  at  the 
priceless  cost  of  the  lives  of  many  valuable  citizens. 

Although  his  own  village  was  at  the  mouth  of  Rock  River,1 
yet  it  appears  that  his  band  were  not  much  acquainted  with 
the  country  high  up  the  river  and  westward  of  it ;  as  he  ac 
knowledges  that  the  Winnebagoes  guided  him  to  a  place  of 
refuge  for  his  followers,  in  the  neighbourhood  of  the  Four 
Lakes ;  and  it  has  been  ascertained  that  the  Sacs  who  com 
mitted  the  murders  at  the  Blue  Mounds,  had  been  shown  the 
path  thither  by  some  Winnebagoes.  After  the  first  affair  of 
the  war  at  Sycamore  Creek,  generally  called  «  Stillman's  Run,", 
the  depreciations  of  Black  Hawk  were  committed  altogether 
in  the  mining  region,  with  the  exception  of  the  murders  at 
Indian  Creek,  and  the  capture  of  the  two  Misses  Hall.  But 
in  that  quarter  of  the  country,  brave  hearts  quickly  united  in 
the  common  defence  against  savage  hostility ;  constant  vigi 
lance,  unceasing  activity,  unflinching  courage,  strict  conformity 
to  prudent  counsels,  and  obedience  to  the  orders  of  wise  and 
energetic  leaders,  were  the  effectual  means  of  protecting  the 
sparse  settlements  of  Iowa  county  and  the  neighbourhood  of 
Galena.  Black  Hawk  has  been  known  to  have  often  made  this 
observation:  "If  it  had  not  been  for  that  chief,  Dodge,  the 
hairy  face,  I  could  easily  have  whipped  the  whites :  I  could 
have  gone  any  where  my  people  pleased,  in  the  mining  country.". 


BLACK  HAWK  IN  WISCONSIN.  28? 

The  merit  of  defending  this  quarter  of  the  country  must 
not,  in  strict  justice,  be  limited  to  those  individuals  alone  who 
had  the  fortune  to  meet  the  enemy  in  actual  combat.  Many 
unavailable  efforts  were  made  in  search  of  the  enemy  at  vari 
ous  times,  by  the  volunteers  of  the  mining  region  :  in  the 
dangers  and  difficulties  all  were  willing  and  ever  ready  to  par 
ticipate  ;  and  most  certainly  the  meed  of  approbation  cannot 
justly  be  withheld  from  those  who,  perhaps  less  fortunate  than 
their  companions  in  arms,  did  not  encounter  the  foe  in  deadly 
fight.  The  constant  vigilance  and  activity  in  scouring  the 
country,  evinced  by  the  volunteers  upon  all  occasions  when 
called  upon  by  their  commander,  very  naturally  imparted  a 
confidence  to  the  families  of  the  inhabitants,  who  of  necessity 
were  congregated  in  little  stockade  posts,  block-houses,  and 
places  of  defence  :  such  conduct  also  afforded  them  an  efficient 
protection  against  the  predatory  incursions  of  the  Indians, 
and  certainly  contributed  to  exciting  the  fears  of  a  foe,  whose 
principal  hope  of  success  is  in  the  attack  by  surprise.  Many 
journeys  of  much  danger  were  cheerfully  undertaken  and 
performed  by  the  volunteers,  when  acting  as  expresses ;  and 
in  fine,  where  all  were  willing  and  all  were  ready,  although  not 
all  were  found  in  the  actual  battle-field,  the  slightest  discrimi 
nation  is  improper  and  wholly  unnecessary. 

The  companies  of  volunteers  under  the  immediate  com 
mand  of  Colonel  Dodge  at  the  battle  of  the  Wisconsin  Heights, 
were  Captain  Stephenson's,  from  Galena ;  Captain  Clarke's, 
from  White-Oak  Springs ;  Captain  Gentry's,  from  Mineral 
Point ;  Captain  Parkinson's,  from  Fort  Defiance ;  Captain 
Jones's,  from  Blue  River,  and  Captain  Dickson's,  from  Platte- 
ville.  Lieutenant  Charles  Bracken  was  adjutant  of  the  bat 
talion  and  aid  to  Colonel  Dodge. 

The  close  of  the  Indian  disturbances  brought  with  it  a 
rapid  increase  of  immigration,  not  only  in  the  mining  country, 
but  in  various  other  parts  of  the  territory  west  of  Lake  Mi 
chigan,  more  especially  in  that  portion  bordering  the  lake 
shore ;  the  interior  was  as  yet  sparsely  occupied.  Within  a 
few  years  past,  several  treaties  had  been  made  with  different 


288  HISTORY  OF  WISCONSIN. 

tribes  of  Indians,  by  which  the  boundaries  of  their  several 
lands  were  defined,  and  much  territory  ceded  to  the  United 
States.  Among  these  the  treaties  of  Prairie  du  Chien,  of 
July  29th  and  August  1st,  1829,  and  of  Rock  Island,  of  Sep 
tember  15th  and  21st,  were  highly  important  to  the  interests 
of  the  western  portion  of  Michigan  Territory,  as  opening  a 
wide  field  for  the  enterprising  and  industrious  emigrant ;  the 
advantages  held  out  to  him  were  in  very  many  instances 
seized  and  improved ;  but  the  establishment  of  the  United 
States  land-offices  at  a  subsequent  period,  in  1835,  and  the 
facilities  thereby  afforded  to  the  speculating  land  monopolist, 
had  an  injurious  effect  on  the  settlement  of  this  fine  region 
of  country,  which  is  severely  felt  even  to  the  present  day, 
and  unfortunately  with  a  prospect  of  continuance.1 

Much  enterprise  was  already  exhibited  by  the  inhabitants" 
of  Green  Bay,  not  only  in  the  improvement  of  the  vicinity 
by  buildings  and  cultivation,  but  by  calling  public  attention  to 
the  propriety  and  necessity  of  the  erection  of  a  separate 
Territory  in  this  part  of  Michigan.  It  is  true  that  courts  of 
justice  were  already  established  here,  and  that  members  of 
the  legislative  council  were  elected  to  represent  this  portion 
of  the  Territory ;  but  as  the  seat  of  government  was  at  De 
troit,  months  were  employed  by  the  legislator  in  travelling 
to  transact  the  business  of  a  few  days ;  and,  as  if  the  country 
east  of  the  Mississippi  and  west  of  Lake  Michigan  was  not 
sufficiently  remote  for  the  protecting  arm  of  the  existing 
Territorial  Government,  Congress,  by  the  act  of  June  28th, 
1834,  attached  to  Michigan  all  the  country  west  of  the  Mis 
sissippi  and  north  of  the  Missouri,  comprising  much  more 
than  the  whole  of  the  present  State  of  Iowa. 

In  order  to  facilitate  the  intercourse  between  the  two  re 
mote  military  posts  at  Green  Bay  and  Prairie  du  Chien,  three 
companies  of  United  States  soldiers  were  detached,  by  the 
orders  of  the  adjutant-general,  from  Fort  Howard,  under  the 
command  of  Lieutenant  Alexander,  to  open  a  military  road 

i  Doc.  Hist.  Indian  Treaties.    Descriptive  Hist. :  the  several  counties. 


BLACK  HAWK  IN  WISCONSIN.  289 

from  Fort  Howard  to  Fort  Crawford,  that  is,  from  Green 
Bay  to  the  Mississippi  at  the  mouth  of  the  Wisconsin  River. 
They  entered  on  duty  June  1st,  1835,  and  the  route,  as  laid 
out  by  them,  still  continues  as  one  of  the  great  thorough 
fares  between  the  East  and  the  West,  with  little  other  devia 
tions  than  those  caused  by  the  gradual  settlement  and  culti 
vation  of  the  country.  An  instance  of  persevering  endurance 
of  fatigue,  in  this  connection,  may  well  be  recorded.  In  1832, 
Colonel  Zachary  Taylor,  then  in  command  at  Fort  Crawford, 
established  a  regular  communication  by  mail  between  that 
place  and  Fort  Snelling,  at  the  mouth  of  St.  Peter's  River : 
James  Halpin,  then  a  soldier  in  the  United  States  army,  now 
a  citizen  of  Madison,  was  the  bearer  of  the  despatches.  He 
travelled  the  most  of  the  time  on  foot,  and  continued  to  carry 
his  mail  for  one  year  :  the  time  spent  in  going  and  returning 
was  fourteen  days,  and  the  distance  between  the  two  places 
was  about  three  hundred  miles.  He  crossed  the  Mississippi 
at  Prairie  du  Chien,  and  travelled  on  the  western  side  of  the 
river ;  the  upper  Iowa  River  was  crossed  by  means  of  a  canoe 
which  he  found  on  the  bank,  having  been  left  there  by  some 
Indian,  or  perhaps  by  some  traveller  or  explorer.  There  was 
no  stream,  except  this  one,  of  any  consequence,  to  cross,  until 
he  came  to  St.  Peter's  River,  near  Fort  Snelling.  There  was 
no  cabin,  tent  or  shelter  for  him  in  the  whole  distance,  but 
sometimes  he  would  come  across  a  temporary  Indian  encamp 
ment,  where  he  was  always  well  treated,  but  he  seldom  found 
the  encampment  in  the  same  place  a  second  time. 

At  a  much  earlier  period,  the  absence  of  white  inhabitants 
presented  no  great  obstacle  to  individual  enterprise  in  passing 
through  the  country.  In  1823,  Colonel  William  S.  Hamilton, 
late  of  Iowa  county,  had  entered  into  a  contract  with  the 
General  Government  to  supply  the  garrison  at  Fort  Howard 
with  provisions.  He  left  the  lower  part  of  Illinois  with  seve 
ral  hundred  head  of  cattle,  and  came  by  the  way  of  Chicago, 
coasting  the  lake  past  the  points  where  Milwaukee,  Sheboy- 
gan,  and  Manitoowoc  now  are,  to  Green  Bay,  with  the  whole 
of  his  drove.  At  Milwaukee  River  he  found  Mr.  Solomon 
Vol.  I. —19 


290  HISTORY  OF  WISCONSIN. 

Juneau  alone ;  at  another  point  he  found  Colonel  Ehenezer 
Childs  with  a  fishing  party,  and  having  accomplished  his  de 
sired  end,  he  returned  to  Illinois  by  his  nearest  route  across 
the  yet  altogether  unsettled  country.1 

The  route  of  Father  Marquette  from  Green  Bay  to  the 
Mississippi  was  followed  so  early  as  1818,  in  a  manner  well 
deserving  a  passing  notice.  Mr.  William  Farnsworth,  now  of 
Sheboygan,  left  Michillimackinac  in  a  boat,  accompanied  by 
more  than  twenty  other  individuals,  for  the  purpose  of  pro 
ceeding  to  St.  Louis  by  water.  The  party  ascended  Green- 
Bay  and  the  Fox  River,  crossed  the  portage  at  Fort  Winne- 
bago,  and  descended  the  Wisconsin  River  to  its  mouth  ;  thence 
proceeded  down  the  Mississippi  to  St.  Louis,  and  transacted 
their  business.  The  same  party,  in  the  same  boat,  returned 
up  the  Mississippi  to  the  mouth  of  the  Illinois  River  ;  ascended 
the  Illinois  to  a  portage,  where  they  carried  their  boat  over 
to  the  Chicago  River,  which  they  descended  to  Lake  Michi 
gan  ;  they  then  coasted  the  lake  to  its  most  southern  ex 
tremity,  and  all  returned  in  health  to  Michillimackinac.2 

This  course  of  water  travel  was  by  no  means  uncommon 
between  Green  Bay  and  Prairie  du  Chien  :  the  instance  above 
given  is  remarkable  for  the  number  of  individuals  in  one  boat, 
and  also  for  the  return  voyage.  In  1826,  we  find  that  a  no 
tice  is  made  in  the  St.  Louis  Herald  of  the  8th  of  November, 
of  the  arrival  at  that  place,  a  few  weeks  before,  of  thirty-five 
boats  direct  from  Green  Bay,  bringing  the  third  regiment  of 
infantry.  This  flotilla,  at  the  dryest  season  of  the  year,  made 
"but  twenty-five  hundred  yards  of  portage  between  the  Fox 
and  Wisconsin  Rivers.  The  voyage  down  the  Mississippi 
from  Prairie  du  Chien  to  St.  Louis  ranged  from  six  to  ten 
days ;  in  ascending,  the  time  occupied  was  from  twelve  days 
to  one  month. 

It  is  difficult  to  ascertain  the  precise  date  of  the  first  esta 
blishment  of  the  French  at  Prairie  du  Chien :  it  is  certain 
that  when  Carver  was  here  in  1766,  there  was  a  considerable 

'Doc.  Hist.  Early  Adventure.  2Idem. 


BLACK  HAWK  IN  WISCONSIN.  291 

village  of  the  Fox  Indians,  and  that  it  was  a  place  of  annual 
resort  of  Indians  and  traders  for  the  purpose  of  trade  in 
peltries  and  the  products  of  the  chase,  for  the  merchandise, 
arms,  and  ammunition  furnished  the  Indians  by  the  whites. 
But  Carver  furnishes  at  least  negative  testimony  that  at 
this  period  there  were  no  white  persons,  either  settled  or  re 
siding  there,  for  he  says  that  he  and  his  party  left  the  village, 
and  proceeded  a  few  miles  up  the  river,  where  they  encamped 
on  the  western  side  of  the  Mississippi :  this,  it  may  reason 
ably  be  supposed,  they  would  not  have  done,  had  there  been 
any  white  persons  at  the  village.  Besides,  there  is  no  evi 
dence  that  the  Jesuit  Fathers,  or  other  missionaries,  ever  had 
in  early  days  any  establishment  at  the  Dog  Prairie ;  which 
alone,  is  a  powerful  circumstance  against  the  idea  of  an  early 
white  settlement.  In  fact,  when  the  United  States  commis 
sioners  were  examining  the  land  claims  of  the  old  settlers  at 
Prairie  du  Chien,  in  1820,  the  oldest  claim  by  settlement, 
that  of  Michael  La  Pointe,  dated  back  to  1784 :  the  greatest 
portion  of  the  claims  were  in  virtue  of  settlements  made 
within  thirty  years.1 

Mr.  Isaac  Lee,  the  United  States  agent  to  receive  testi 
mony  concerning  the  claims  at  Prairie  du  Chien,  reports 
"that  among  the  most  aged  of  the  inhabitants  of  the  Prairie, 
none  could  be  found  who  could  recollect  or  who  had  any 
knowledge  of  the  first  establishment  of  the  French  there,  nor 
could  any  satisfactory  account  be  obtained  by  any  traditions 
among  them  touching  this  point.  The  remains  of  what  is 
commonly  called  the  old  French  fort  are  yet  (1820)  very  dis 
tinguishable.  Though  capacious  and  apparently  strong,  it 
was  probably  calculated  for  defence  ngainst  musketry  and..' 
small  arms  only.  None  can  recollect  the  time  of  the  erection,' 
of  this  fort — it  was  far  beyond  the  memory  of  the  oldest  ; 
nor  can  the  time  of  its  erection  be  determined  by  any  evi 
dence  to  be  obtained.  Some  difference  of  opinion  appears  to- 
exist  there,  as  to  the  question  whether  it  was  originally  built 

i  Am.  State  Papers,  vol.  iv.  872. 


292  HISTORY  OF  WISCONSIN. 

by  the  French  or  by  the  Spanish  government.  It  is  evidently 
very  ancient."1 

Michael  Brisbois  gave  evidence  before  Mr.  Lee,  in  1820, 
that  he  then  had  been  thirty-nine  years  in  this  country,  and 
•was  sixty  years  of  age ;  that  from  his  own  knowledge,  and 
the  best  information  he  could  obtain,  Prairie  du  Chien,  from 
the  mouth  of  the  Wisconsin  to  the  upper  part  of  the  prairie, 
had  been  occupied  and  cultivated  in  small  improvements,  both 
before  and  since  his  arrival  in  the  country ;  that  about 
eighteen  years  since,  the  French  became  somewhat  apprehen 
sive  as  to  their  title ;  which  fact  having  been  made  known  to 
the  Indians,  one  of  the  first  chiefs  of  the  Fox  nation,  named 
Nan-pouis,  ratified  at  Cahokia,  near  St.  Louis,  an  ancient 
sale  of  said  prairie  to  the  French ;  that  in  the  year  seven 
teen  hundred  and  eighty-one,  Governor  Sinclair  bought  the 
Island  of  Michillimackinac,  Green  Bay,  and  Prairie  du 
Chien.  That  the  prairie  derived  its  name  from  a  large 
family  called  «  Des  Chiens"  who  formerly  resided  here,  and 
some  of  the  same  family,  and  so  called  "Des  Chiens,"  were 
here  when  he  arrived. 

Pierre  la  Pointe  also,  at  the  same  time,  gave  evidence  be 
fore  Mr.  Lee,  that  he  was  seventy  years  of  age,  and  had  been 
forty-four  years  in  the  country,  and  had  resided  thirty-eight 
years  at  Prairie  du  Chien.  That  in  the  year  seventeen  hun 
dred  and  eighty-one  he  was  at  Michillimackinac,  and  acted  as 
interpreter  at  the  treaty  held  by  Governor  Sinclair  with  the 
Indians,  for  the  purchase  of  the  island  of  Michillimackinac, 
Green  Bay,  and  Prairie  du  Chien  ;  and  that  he  was  present 
at  the  Prairie,  and  saw  the  goods  delivered  to  the  Indians,  by 
Basil  Girard,  Pierre  Antya,  and  Augustin  Ange,  in  payment 
for  the  purchase  of  the  said  prairie,  according  to  the  stipula 
tions  of  the  treaty  with  Governor  Sinclair.2 

It  has  been  said  that  the  old  fort  was  destroyed  by  fire  in 
the  first  years  of  the  Revolutionary  War :  the  village  was  re 
newed  in  1783 — that  is,  if  one  had  existed  there  before  that 

1  Am.  State  Papers,  vol.  iv.  867.  2  Idem.  866. 


BLACK  HAWK  IN  WISCONSIN.  293 

time,  which  is  extremely  doubtful  when  the  evidence  in  rela 
tion  to  land  claims  is  considered.  At  what  time  any  other 
fort  or  defences  were  built  here  by  the  French  or  English 
does  not  appear ;  but  we  learn,  from  a  congressional  report, 
that  the  village  and  fort  were  formally  surrendered  to  tho 
Americans  in  the  month  of  June,  1796. 1  The  formal  sur 
render  of  the  fort,  is  doubtful ;  the  general  surrender  of  the 
Western  posts  should  have  been  made  in  June,  but  did  not 
take  place  until  July. 

In  1805,  when  Lieutenant  Pike  was  on  his  expedition  up 
the  Mississippi,  he  computed  the  fixed  white  population  of 
the  place,  in  the  absence  of  the  traders,  and  those  connected 
with  them,  at  370,  and  the  total  number  at  from  500  to  600 : 
there  were  then,  thirty-seven  houses.  In  1812,  the  principal 
families  there,  were  Dubuque,  Antya,  Brisbois,  Boilvin,  &c. : 
in  1814  the  farms  were  in  a  high  state  of  cultivation. 

We  have  repeatedly  had  occasion  to  remark,  that  independ 
ent  of  the  settlements  of  the  whites  around  fortified  posts 
and  trading  points,  and  tho  few  old  missionary  stations,  in  the 
vicinity  of  the  great  lakes  and  the  Upper  Mississippi,  no  at 
tempts  at  agricultural  immigration,  and  the  establishment  of 
farming  industry,  had  been  made  for  more  than  a  century 
after  the  first  arrival  of  the  Jesuit  Fathers,  and  the  early  ex 
plorers  in  the  country.  A  combination  of  causes  was  always 
presenting  an  insuperable  barrier  to  an  agricultural  occupa 
tion  of  the  great  Northwest ;  until  the  time  had  arrived  when 
such  an  occupation  of  it  could  only  be  checked  by  absolute 
and  overpowering  force,  because  the  onward  progress  of 
American  enterprise  had  at  length  reached  this  region.  It 
is  a  certain  fact,  well  established  in  the  history  of  the  occu 
pation  of  all  new  countries,  that  industrial  settlements  can 
not  be  forced ;  such  never  attain  more  than  an  outward  show 
of  prosperity,  but  are  pregnant  with  the  seeds  of  disease, 
which  time  soon  ripens,  and  dissolution  ensues.  Natural 
causes  will  produce  like  effects,  and  perhaps  no  artificial 

1  Am.  State  Papers,  vol.  iii.  341. 


294  HISTORY  OF  WISCONSIN. 

efforts  could  have  contributed  to  the  settlement  of  Wisconsin 
one  hour  earlier  than  when  the  barrier  of  remoteness  from 
civilized  life  had  been  removed,  by  the  onward  and  steady 
inarch  of  agricultural  emigration  from  the  Eastern  and 
Southern  States.  Such  was  a  natural  cause,  and  the  effect 
-was  soon  perceived  in  the  rapid  progress  in  improvements 
spread  over  the  whole  country.  No  colony  established  by  a 
government,  no  settlement  induced  by  the  plausible  repre 
sentations  of  a  body  of  land  speculators,  can  justly  hope  for 
success  in  the  absence  of  a  natural  demand  for  their  action. 
The  one  may  be  kept  alive  by  extravagant  expenditures,  and 
the  other  may  linger  in  a  sickly  appearance  of  prosperity 
until  it  perishes  from  debility.  Both  are  artificial,  and 
neither  of  them  can  compare  with  that  occupation  and  settle 
ment  of  a  country  which,  when  the  proper  time  has  arrived, 
springs  from  a  persevering  and  industrious  immigration  ;  and 
which  is  naturally  withheld  until  the  arrival  of  such  time. 

But  there  was  a  combination  of  causes  always  acting,  so  as 
to  prevent  the  settlement  of  the  country  known  now  as  the 
Northwestern  Territory,  by  a  body  of  agriculturists.  In  the 
first  place,  the  Jesuit  Fathers,  the  precursors  of  all  succeeding 
population,  were  constantly  occupied  in  the  duties  of  religion, 
in  the  conversion  of  the  savage,  and  in  the  spread  of  the 
Word  of  God  over  an  immense  country,  inhabited  by  various 
nations  and  tribes  of  Indians,  and  in  which  their  few  mis 
sionary  stations  were  often  hundreds  of  miles  apart.  They 
gave  no  attention  to  agriculture ;  it  was  not  their  vocation, 
nor  was  it  their  design  to  encourage  it ;  all  the  objects  of 
this  world,  and  even  its  obvious  demands,  were  disregarded, 
when  placed  in  competition  with  the  fulfilment  of  the  duties 
of  their  religion.  The  amelioration  of  the  social  condition  of 
man  may  have  appeared  to  them  to  be  of  less  importance  than 
the  conversion  to  the  true  faith  of  a  human  soul;  and  the  Jesuit 
Fathers  were  not  the  less  in  the  faithful  discharge  of  their 
holy  calling,  although  the  settlement  of  the  country  which  they 
had  discovered  did  not  immediately  follow  in  their  footsteps. 

Again :  while   this    region  was  in   the    possession   of   tho 


BLACK  HAWK  IN   WISCONSIN.  295 

French,  for  more  than  a  century,  up  to  the  peace  of  1763, 
scarcely  the  least  encouragement  was  given  to  agriculture. 
The  French  Government  made  no  grants  of  land — gave  no 
attention  to  settlers  or  agriculturists  ;  the  occupation  of  the 
country  was  strictly  military,  from  the  time  of  the  establish 
ment  of  the  forts  at  Michillimackinac  and  Detroit.  It  is  true 
that  a  few  grants  of  land  were  made,  by  French  governors 
and  commanders,  previous  to  the  year  1750,  to  favoured  indi 
viduals,  some  of  which  were  afterward  confirmed  by  the 
King  of  France  ;l  others  which  did  not  require  confirmation, 
being  made  by  Antoine  de  la  Mothe  Cadillac,  commandant 
at  Detroit,  under  special  authority  from  the  king  :2  of  this 
latter  kind,  one  for  a  small  piece  of  about  thirty  acres,  bears 
•with  it  so  many  conditions,  restrictions,  imposition  of  duties, 
regulations  of  trade,  rent  charges,  reservations,  prohibitions 
of  sale,  and  a  whole  cavalcade  of  feudal  duties  to  be  per 
formed  by  the  grantee,  that  in  itself  it  would  be  a  host,  in 
opposition  to  the  agricultural  settlement  of  any  country.3 

Again :  these  grants,  such  as  they  were  in  effect,  were 
very  few  in  number.  Three  were  made  by  the  French  go 
vernor,  commandant  of  Louisiana  and  the  Canadas,  in  the 
year  1740  ;  and  ten  by  the  like  officer  in  1750. 4  And  what 
ever  may  have  been  the  nature  of  the  grants,  or  titles  of  the 
inhabitants,  the  whole  number  of  settlements  within  the 
American  title,  in  the  neighbourhood  of  Detroit,  in  the  year 
1763,  when  the  country  was  ceded  by  treaty  to  England,  was 
only  77.5 

Again  :  it  is  well  known  that  immediately  after  the  acqui 
sition  by  Great  Britian  of  the  possessions  of  France  on  the 
continent  of  North  America,  by  the  terms  of  that  treaty  of 
1763,  the  King  of  England  issued  a  proclamation  restricting 
the  further  extinguishment  of  native  title ;  and  although  a 

1  Six,  says  Judge  Woodward.     Am.  State  Papers,  vol.  i.  247. 

2  Two  of  this  kind.     Idem. 
5  See  Note  K. 

4  Jouett's  Report.     Am.  State  Papers,  vol.  i.  175. 
-*  Woodward's  Report.     Idem.  247. 


296  HISTORY  OF  WISCONSIN. 

number  of  claims  to  land,  under  pretended  grants  of  com 
manding  officers  at  Detroit,  subsequent  to  1763  and  previous 
to  1783,  were  made,  they  were  not  confirmed  by  Government; 
nor  did  the  English  Government  confirm  any  of  the  grants 
or  purchases  claimed  to  have  been  made  by,  and  from  the 
Indians.1 

,  Again :  the  American  Government  has  ever  acted  on  the 
policy,  and  according  to  the  effect  of  the  proclamation  of  the 
king  of  Great  Britain,  of  October  7th,  1763,  whereby  pur 
chases  by  individuals  from  the  Indians  were  strictly  pro 
hibited.  And  although  the  treaty  of  1783  gave  to  the  United 
States  all  that  part  of  Louisiana  lying  east  of  the  Mississippi, 
which  France  had  ceded  to  England  by  the  treaty  of  1763; 
and  although  Virginia  had  ceded  her  claims  to  the  North 
western  Territory  to  the  United  States,  in  1787 ;  yet  an 
insuperable  difficulty  stood  in  the  way  of  settlement  of  the 
country,  so  far  as  the  encouragement,  or  even  countenance  of 
the  Government  could  be  given  to  it,  for  the  Indian  title  to 
the  soil  had  not  yet  been  extinguished. 

Again :  the  determined  hostility  of  nearly  all  the  Indian 
nations  of  the  great  lakes  and  of  the  Mississippi,  of  the  Illi 
nois  and  of  the  Wabash,  to  the  new  masters  of  the  country, 
the  Americans,  added  to  the  long  protracted  delivery  of  the 
Western  posts  by  the  British,  and  the  constant  state  of  excited 
enmity  in  which  the  Indians  were  kept  against  the  people  of 
the  United  States,  by  the  agents  of  Great  Britain,  of  course 
retarded  the  settlement  of  the  country,  even  by  those  who 
might  be  disposed  to  move  into  a  district  to  which  the  Indian 
title  had  not  yet  been  extinguished. 

i  Again  :  the  interruption  of  the  war  of  1812,  wyhich  stirred 
up  all  old  enmities  with  the  Indians,  threw  obstacles  in  the 
•way  of  settlement  of  the  country,  which  the  lapse  of  many 
years  did  not  overcome. 

Again :  the  remoteness  of  Wisconsin,  in  particular,  from 
any  of  the  frontier  settlements  of  the  States  whence  emigra- 

1  Am.  State  Papers,  vol.  i.  249. 


BLACK   HAWK  IN  WISCONSIN.  297 

tion  principally  proceeds,  and  situated  as  she  was,  on  the  very 
verge  of  civilized  life,  and  on  one  part  of  the  extreme  fron 
tiers  of  the  United  States,  was  not  the  least  obstacle  in  the 
path  of  her  early  settlement.  But  when  all  these  opposing 
circumstances,  although  not  co-existent,  yet  each  forcibly 
operating  with  like  effect  on  one  subject,  had  gradually  dis 
solved  and  disappeared,  it  was  found  that  a  natural  tide  of 
emigration  was  flowing  westward,  and  the  many  attractions 
which  Wisconsin  presented  to  the  enterprising  and  industrious 
labourer,  were  quickly  rewarded  in  her  acquisition  of  an  ac 
tive  and  productive  population. 

That  portion  of  the  territory  lying  east  of  Lake  Michigan 
was  now  ripe  for  State  government;  and  under  authority  of 
an  act  of  the  legislative  council  of  Michigan,  the  inhabitants 
met  on  the  first  Tuesday  in  October,  1832,  and  expressed  an 
affirmative  opinion  on  the  question,  "whether  it  be  expedient 
for  the  people  of  this  territory  to  form  a  State  government." 
,  The  idea  of  a  new  Territory  in  the  western  portion  of  Michi 
gan  was  started  in  1826,  and  in  1831  a  bill  to  that  effect  passed 
the  House  of  Representatives,  but  was  lost  in  the  Senate ;  in 
1832  another  bill  to  the  like  effect  was  reported  in  the  House 
of  Representatives,  and  remained  over,  among  the  unfinished! 
"business.1 

,  On  the  14th  of  December,  1833,  a  public  meeting  was  held 
at  Navarino;  resolutions  were  adopted  in  favour  of  a  new 
Territory,  and  a  memorial  to  Congress  on  such  subject  was 
prepared.  This  memorial  remonstrated  against  the  action  of 
the  Western  people  with  regard  to  the  13th  section  of  the  bill 
reported  in  Congress,  January  6th,  1832,  by  which  the  seat 
of  government  was  fixed  at  Menomineeville,  on  Fox  River : 
the  memorial  also  asked  for  the  establishment  of  two  land- 
offices  west  of  Lake  Michigan,  and  for  appropriations  for  the 
improvement  of  the  Fox  and  Wisconsin  Rivers. 
,  At  this  period  a  great  jealousy  existed  between  the  people 
of  the  mines  and  those  of  the  Green  Bay  country,  as  to  the 

1  See  Note  L. 


298  HISTORY  OF  WISCONSIN. 

location  of  the  seat  of  territorial  government ;  whether  it 
should  be  at  Mineral  Point,  or  at  Menomineeville,  three  miles 
from  Navarino.  The  counties  of  Brown,  Mackinaw,  and  Chip- 
pewa  were  thrown  into  the  political  scale  against  those  of  the 
west,  including  the  lead-mines  (Dubuque's)  on  the  west  side  of 
the  Mississippi. 

In  1834,  Mr.  Doty,  from  the  committee  on  territorial  affairs, 
reported  to  the  legislative  council  (of  Michigan)  a  memorial 
to  Congress  on  the  subject  of  forming  the  new  Territory,  (of 
Wisconsin,)  in  which  the  claims  of  the  same  to  be  separated 
from  Michigan  are  set  forth  and  strongly  urged,  together 
with  her  claims  to  a  rigid  adherence  to  the  letter  of  the  ordi 
nance  of  1787,  in  regard  to  boundaries  and  limits. 

On  the  14th  of  February,  1834,  a  bill  establishing  the  Ter 
ritory  of  Wisconsin  was  reported  in  the  Senate.  It  differed 
from  the  bill  reported  in  1832  in  the  House  of  Representa 
tives — the  location  of  the  seat  of  government  being  left  to  the 
decision  of  the  governor  and  legislative  council,  and  thus  the 
conflicting  interests  of  the  counties  of  Brown  and  Iowa  were 
equitably  compromised. 

As  respects  the  unreasonableness  of  the  continuance  of  the 
connection  of  the  western  counties  with  Michigan,  the  follow 
ing  paragraph  exhibits  the  general  public  opinion  and  feeling.1 

«  The  legislative  council  adjourned  on  the  8th  ultimo,  to 
meet  again  on  the  first  of  January,  1835.  Mr.  Martin  is 
expected  in  the  first  vessel,  which  is  now  on  the  way.  James 
D.  Doty,  one  of  the  members  from  this  district,  has  returned 
to  this  place,  after  an  absence  of  nearly  fve  months,  to  attend 
a  session  of  sixty  days,  and  having  travelled  through  a  con 
siderable  part  of  two  States,  and  the  whole  of  the  Territory 
of  Michigan,  to  get  to  the  seat  of  government  at  Detroit.  It 
is  strange  that  Congress  cannot  see  in  such  facts  the  inconve 
nience  resulting  to  the  people  west  of  Lake  Michigan,  from 
this  unnatural  union  with  Michigan  ;  how  slender  must  be  our 
participations  in  the  benefits  of  her  government ;  and  conse- 

1  Navarino  Intelligencer,  April  16,  1834. 


BLACK  HAWK  IN  WISCONSIN.  299 

quently  how  great  the  necessity  for  the  immediate  passage  of 
the  bill  to  establish  the  Territory  of  Wisconsin." 

As  if  to  increase  these  inconveniences,  as  has  before  been 
observed,  Congress,  on  the  28th  of  June,  1834,  passed  an  act 
to  attach  the  territory  of  the  United  States  west  of  the  Mis 
sissippi  River,  and  north  of  the  State  of  Missouri,  to  the 
Territory  of  Michigan. 

In  January,  1833,  and  in  February,  1834,  memorials  were 
presented  in  Congress  for  the  admission  of  Michigan  into  the 
Union,  but  in  consequence  of  the  difficulties  existing  and  aris 
ing  out  of  the  boundary  question,  Michigan  was  not  admitted 
as  a  State  until  January  26th,  1837,  and  then  on  the  condi 
tions  prescribed  by  act  of  June  15th,  1836. 

On  the  9th  of  January,  1836,  the  first  session  of  the  seventh 
legislative  council  of  Michigan  Territory  was  held  at  Green 
Bay,  at  which  place  it  had  been  convened  by  Secretary  John 
S.  Homer,  then  acting  governor  of  the  Territory  of  Michi 
gan.  Little  business  was  transacted :  Governor  Horner  did 
not  attend,  and  the  most  essential  matter  taken  in  considera 
tion  by  the  council  was  the  condition  of  that  part  of  the 
territory  which  would  be  left  after  the  State  of  Michigan  had 
defined  and  accepted  her  boundaries  ;  such  remaining  part 
being  all  the  country  on  the  east  side  of  the  Mississippi  River, 
and  not  only  the  whole  of  the  present  State  of  Iowa,  but  also 
a  very  great  portion  of  the  present  Territory  of  Minnesota. 

At  this  session  a  memorial  was  adopted,  asking  Congress 
for  the  formation  of  a  new  Territory  west  of  Lake  Michigan, 
to  consist  of  all  the  residue  of  Michigan  Territory  not  embraced 
in  the  limits  of  the  State  of  Michigan.  The  memorial  holds 
this  language  :  "  Thrown  off  by  Michigan  in  the  formation  of 
her  new  State,  without  an  acting  governor  to  enforce  the 
fragments  of  laws  under  which  we  still  live  ;  without  a  com 
petent  civil  jurisdiction  to  give  security  to  our  lives  and  our 
property,  we  have  deemed  it  our  last  and  best  policy  to  ask 
the  intervention  of  the  national  aid,  to  give  us  a  new  efficient 
political  existence."  *  *  *  "It  had  been  decided  by  the 
Federal  courts  that  the  population  west  of  the  Mississippi 


300  HISTORY  OF  WISCONSIN. 


are  not  within  its  jurisdiction,  and  presuming  such  decision  to 
be  correct,  the  monstrous  anomaly  was  presented,  that  ten  or 
twelve  thousand  freemen,  citizens  of  the  United  States,  living 
in  its  territory,  should  be  unprotected  in  their  lives  and  their 
property  by  its  courts  of  civil  and  criminal  jurisprudence, 
which  was  unparalleled  in  the  annals  of  republican  legislation." 
This  memorial  wTas  presented  March  1st,  1836,  and  on  the- 
20th  of  April,  1836,  an  act  establishing  the  Territorial  govern 
ment  of  Wisconsin  was  passed  and  approved.  Hereafter  we 
shall  trace  the  history  of  Wisconsin  as  a  distinct  Territory,  and 
view  her  progress  through  protective  government,  until  she 
assumes  upon  herself  the  dignity  of  an  independent  member 
of  the  Union,  possessing  in  herself  every  element  calculated 
to  render  her  one  of  the  most  important  States  in  the  con 
federacy. 


NOTES. 

i 

NOTE  A.    Page  38. 

AN  ACCOUNT  OF  NEW  FRANCE. 

M.  JOLIET,  "who  was  sent  by  Count  Frontenac  to  discover  a  way  into  the 
South  Sea,  brought  an  exact  account  of  his  voyage,  with  a  map  of  it ; 
but  his  canow  being  overset,  at  the  foot  of  the  Fall  of  St.  Louis,  in  sight 
of  Montroyal,  his  chest  and  his  two  men  were  lost ;  therefore  the  follow 
ing  account  contains  only  what  he  has  remembered. 

I  set  out  from  the  Bay  of  Puans,  in  the  latitude  of  42  degrees  4  minutes, 
and  having  travelled  about  60  leagues  to  the  westward,  I  found  a  portage ; 
and  carrying  our  canows  over  land  for  half  a  league,  I  enibark'd  with 
six  men  on  the  river  Misconsing,  which  brought  us  into  the  Meschasipi 
in  the  latitude  of  42  degrees  and  a  half,  on  the  15th  of  June,  1G74.1 
This  portage  is  but  40  leagues  from  the  Mississippi.  This  river  is  half 
a  league  broad ;  its  stream  is  gentle  to  the  latitude  of  38  degrees  ;  for  a 
river  from  the  west-northwest,  which  runs  into  it,  increases  so  much  its 
rapidity,  that  we  cou'd  make  but  five  leagues  a  day  in  our  return.  The 
savages  told  us  that  the  current  is  not  half  so  great  in  winter.  The 
banks  of  that  river  are  cover' d  with  woods  down  to  the  sea ;  but  the  cot 
ton  trees  are  so  big,  that  I  have  seen  some  canows  made  of  those  trees, 
eighty  foot  long  and  three  broad,  which  carry  thirty  men.  I  saw  180  of 
those  wooden  canows  in  one  village  of  the  savages,  of  300  cabins.  They 
have  abundance  of  holly-trees,  and  other  trees,  the  bark  whereof  is 
white;  grapes,  apples,  plums,  chesnuts,  pomegranates,  mulberries,  be 
sides  other  nuts  unknown  to  Europe  ;  plenty  of  turkey-cocks,  parrots, 
quails,  wild  oxen,  stags,  and  wild  goats.  These  savages  are  affable,  civil, 
and  obliging  ;  and  the  first  I  met  with,  presented  me  with  a  pipe  or  calu 
met  of  peace,  which  is  a  protection  even  in  a  fight.  Their  women  and 
old  men  take  care  of  the  culture  of  the  ground,  which  is  so  fertile  as  to 
afford  three  crops  of  Indian  corn  every  year.  They  have  abundance  of 
water-melons,  citruls,  and  gourds.  When  they  have  sown  their  corn  they 

1  Error  in  date,  perhaps  typographical.    See  Marquette's  Journal. 

301 


302  NOTES  TO  CHAPTER  I. 

go  a-hunting  for  wild  oxen,  whose  flesh  they  eat,  and  the  skin  serves  for 
their  coverings,  having  dress'd  the  same  with  a  sort  of  earth  which  serves 
also  to  dye  them.  They  have  axes  and  knives  from  the  French  and 
Spaniards,  in  exchange  of  their  beavers  and  skins  of  wild  goats.  Those 
who  live  near  the  sea  have  some  fire-arms. 

The  Mississippi  has  few  windings  and  turnings,  and  runs  directly  to- 
the  south,  and  having  follow'd  its  course  till  the  33d  degree  of  latitude, 
J  resolv'd  to  return  home,  seeing  that  river  did  not  dischage  itself  into 
Mar  Vermejo,  which  we  look'd  for,  as  also  because  the  Spaniards  observed 
our  motions  for  six  days  together.  The  savages  told  me  that  the  Spaniards 
live  within  thirty  leagues  to  the  westward. 

The  said  M.  Joiiet  adds,  that  he  had  set  down  in  his  journal  an  exact 
description  of  the  iron-mines  they  discover'd,  as  also  of  the  quarries  of 
marble,  and  cole-pits,  and  places  where  they  find  saltpetre,  with  several 
other  things.  He  had  also  observ'd  what  were  the  fittest  places  to  settle 
colonies,  &c.  The  soil  is  very  fertile,  and  produces  abundance  of  grapes, 
which  might  make  delicious  wines. 

The  river  of  St.  Lewis,1  which  hath  its  source  near  Missichiganen,  is 
the  biggest  and  the  most  convenient  for  a  colony,  its  mouth  into  the  lake 
being  very  convenient  for  an  harbour.  It  is  deep  and  broad,  and  well 
stock'd  with  sturgeons  and  other  fishes.  The  stags,  oxen,  wild  goats, 
turkey-cocks  and  other  game,  are  more  plentiful  on  the  banks  of  the 
said  river  than  anywhere  else.  There  are  meadows,  ten  or  twenty  leagues 
broad,  incompass'd  with  fine  forests  ;  behind  which  are  other  meadows,. 
in  which  grass  grows  six  foot  high.  Hemp  grows  naturally  in  all  that 
country. 

Those  who  shall  settle  themselves  there,  shall  not  be  oblig'd,  as  we  are 
here,  to  bestow  ten  years  for  felling  down  the  trees  and  grubbing  up  the 
land,  before  it  is  fit  for  corn,  whereas  the  ground  is  ready  for  the  plough 
in  that  fortunate  country,  where  they  may  have  good  wine.  Their  young 
wild  oxen  may  be  easily  learned  to  plough  their  land  ;  and  their  long 
curled  hair,  or  rather  wool,  may  serve  to  make  good  cloth  for  their  wear 
ing.  In  short,  that  soil  wou'd  afford  any  thing  necessary  for  life,  except 
salt,  which  they  might  have  another  way. 


NOTE. — The  above  account  is  the  only  one  I  have  seen,  in  the  name  of 
Joiiet:  there  were  doubtless  others,  for  the  editor  of  JoutePs  Historical 

1  The  Mississippi;  it  is  so  called  in  Crozat's  Patent  of  Monopoly  of  Trade,  granted 
in  17J2. 


NOTE  A.— AN  ACCOUNT  OF  NEW  FRANCE.      3Q3 

Journal  (the  Sieur  de  Mitchel)  speaks  of  "  fables  that  were  then  pub 
lished  by  the  name  of  a  Voyage  of  the  Sieur  Joliet."  The  main  facts 
stated  in  this  short  account,  corroborate  Pere  Marquette;  and  it  is  worthy 
of  notice,  that  it  was  published  by  Hennepin  as  an  addition  to  the  Eng 
lish  edition  of  his  "New  Discovery,"  in  1G98,  and  contains  the  assertions 
of  Joliet,  (after  his  journal  and  map  had  been  lost  in  the  river  St.  Law 
rence,)  that  he  had  descended  the  Wisconsin  and  the  Mississippi  to  the 
33d  degree  of  latitude,  seven  years  before  Hennepin  claims  to  have  been 
on  the  river  at  any  point.  As  this  account  of  Joliet  was  published  in 
Hennepin's  second  edition  of  his  "  New  Discovery,"  wherein  his  inter 
polations  in  regard  to  his  having  descended  the  Mississippi  are  very 
evident,  we  also  give  the  following  extract  from  pages  169,  170,  of  tho 
first  part  of  Ilennepin's  book,  edition  of  1698,  as  an  instance  of  the  un 
scrupulous  mendacity  of  the  author. — W.  11.  S. 

"  While  I  was  at  Q.uebec,  I  understood  that  M.  Joliet  had  been  upon 
the  Meschasipi,  and  oblig'd  to  return  without  going  down  that  river, 
"because  of  the  monsters  I  have  spoken  of,  who  had  frighted  him,  as  also 
"because  he  was  afraid  to  be  taken  by  the  Spaniards  ;  and  having  an  op 
portunity  to  know  the  truth  of  that  story  from  M.  Joliet  himself,  with 
•whom  I  had  often  travellod  on  the  river  St.  Lawrence,  I  ask'd  him  whether 
he  had  been  as  far  as  the  Akansas?  That  gentleman  answer'd  me,  that 
the  Outtaouats  had  often  spoken  to  him  of  those  monsters  ;  but  that  he 
had  never  gone  farther  than  the  Ilurons  and  Outtaouats,  with  whom  he 
had  remain'd  to  exchange  our  European  commodities  with  their  furrs. 
He  added,  that  the  savages  had  told  him  that  it  was  not  safe  to  go  down 
the  river,  because  of  the  Spaniards.  But  notwithstanding  this  report, 
I  have  found  nowhere  upon  that  river,  any  mark,  as  crosses,  and  the  like, 
that  could  persuade  me  that  the  Spaniards  had  been  there;  and  the 
savages  inhabiting  the  Mesuhasipi  would  not  have  express'd  such  admi 
ration  as  they  did  when  they  saw  us,  if  they  had  seen  any  European 
before." 


NOTE. — Hennepin  says,  (page  169,  New  Discovery,  1698,)  "I  had  quite 
forgot  to  relate  that  the  Illinois  had  told  us,  that  towards  the  cape,  which 
I  have  called  in  my  map  St.  Anthony,  near  the  nation  of  the  Messorites, 
there  were  some  tritons  and  other  sea-monsters  painted,  which  the  boldest 
men  durst  not  look  upon,  there  being  some  enchantment  in  their  face.  I 
thought  this  was  a  story  ;  but  when  we  came  near  the  place  they  had 
mention'd,  we  saw,  instead  of  these  monsters,  a  horse  and  some  other 
beasts  painted  upon  the  rock,  with  red  colours,  by  the  savages.  The 
Illinois  had  told  us  likewise  that  the  rock  on  which  these  dreadful  mon- 


304  NOTES   TO   CHAPTER  I. 

sters  stood,  was  so  steep  that  no  man  could  climb  up  to  it ;  but  had  we 
not  been  afraid  of  the  savages  more  than  of  the  monsters,  we  had  cer 
tainly  got  up  to  them.  There  is  a  common  tradition  among  that  people, 
that  a  great  number  of  Miamis  were  drown' d  in  that  place,  being  pursued 
by  the  savages  of  Matsigamea  ;  and  since  that  time,  the  savages  going 
by  the  rock,  use  to  smoak  and  offer  tobacco  to  those  beasts,  to  appease, 
as  they  say,  the  Manitou,  that  is,  in  the  language  of  the  Algonquins  and 
Acadians,  an  evil  spirit,  which  the  Iroquois  call  Okon ;  but  the  name  is 
the  only  thing  they  know  of  him." 

,  In  JouteFs  Journal,  (Lintot's  edition,  1719,  page  165,)  under  the  date 
of  September  2d,  1687,  he  writes  as  follows  : — "  The  second,  we  arrived 
at  the  place  where  the  figure  is,  of  the  pretended  monster  spoken  of  by 
Tather  Marquette.  That  monster  consists  of  two  scurvy  figures  drawn 
in  red,  on  the  flat  side  of  a  rock,  about  ten  or  twelve  foot  high,  which 
wants  very  much  of  the  extraordinary  height  that  relation  mentions.1 
However,  our  Indians  paid  homage  by  offering  sacrifice  to  that  stone, 
tho'  we  endeavoured  to  give  them  to  understand  that  the  said  rock  had 
no  manner  of  virtue,  and  that  we  worshipped  something  above  it,  point 
ing  up  to  heaven  ;  but  it  was  to  no  purpose,  and  they  made  signs  to  us 
that  they  should  die  if  they  did  not  perform  that  duty.  We  proceeded, 
coasting  along  a  chain  of  mountains,  and  at  length,  on  the  3d,  left  the 
Mississippi,  to  enter  the  river  of  the  Illinois/7 — Joutel  ut  supra. 

The  following  note  to  Marquette's  account  of  these  "  monsters,"  is  by 
my  friend  Cyrus  Woodman,  Esq.,  of  Mineral  Point,  Wisconsin. 

"  These  painted  rocks  are  at  Alton,  Illinois.  I  examined  them  with 
Edward  Keating,  Esq.,  in  September,  1847,  and  found  only  some  faint 
traces  of  the  paintings." 

Marquette  describes  the  two  monsters  painted  on  the  rock  as  follows : 
"  They  are  drawn  as  big  as  a  calf,  with  two  horns  like  a  wild  goat ;  their 
looks  are  terrible,  tho'  their  face  has  something  of  human  figure  in  it ; 
their  eyes  are  red,  their  beard  is  like  that  of  a  tyger,  and  their  body  is 
cover' d  with  scales.  Their  tail  is  so  long,  that  it  goes  over  their  heads 
and  then  turns  between  their  fore-legs,  under  the  belly,  ending  like  a 
fish  tail.  There  are  but  three  colours,  viz.  red,  green,  and  black." 

1  Marquette  merely  says  "very  high  and  steep."  No  extraordinary  height  is 
mentioned  by  him. — W.  II.  S. 


NOTE  B.— AN  ACCOUNT  OF  NEW  FRANCE.  395 


NOTE  B.     Page  39. 

The  labours  of  the  Jesuit  Missionaries  had  scarcely  entitled  tho 
country  lying  west  of  Lakes  Michigan  and  Superior  to  recognition  as  a 
part  of  "  New  France,"  before  the  discovery  of  the  Upper  and  Lower 
Mississippi  caused  it  to  be  included  in  that  extended  region  designated 
by  De  la  Salle  as  "  Louisiana,"  and  formally  taken  possession  of  by  him, 
in  the  name  of  his  master,  Louis  tho  Fourteenth,  on  the  ninth  of  April, 
1682.  Apart  from  the  accounts  of  the  face  of  the  country,  its  inhabitants, 
and  its  productions,  as  given  by  tho  early  explorers  in  their  journals, 
and  contained  in  those  letters  of  the  reverend  Jesuit  Fathers,  known  as 
"  Memorable  Relations,"  &c.,  there  is  little  in  detail,  in  the  history  of 
Wisconsin,  of  interest  to  a  general  reader.  Nevertheless,  the  vast  im 
portance  of  the  discoveries  of  Marquette,  De  la  Salle,  Joutel,  Hennepin, 
Tonti,  and  La  Ilontan,  imparts  to  their  respective  narratives,  where 
their  truth  can  be  relied  on,  as  published,  an  interest  which  amply  com 
pensates  for  the  absence  of  local  incident  or  personal  adventure. 

We  say  where  their  truth  can  be  relied  on ;  but  such  is  not  always  the 
case.  The  narrative  of  Marquette  has  been  garbled  in  an  English  trans 
lation  ;  spurious  publications  have  been  put  forth  in  the  names  of  Joliet, 
and  of  Tonti ;  Hennepin  has  voluntarily  falsified  himself,  to  assume  the 
merit  belonging  to  De  la  Salle,  and  perhaps  for  the  purpose  of  laying 
the  foundation  of  a  claim  on  the  part  of  England  to  discoveries  in  the 
Mississippi  Valley  ;  La  Ilontan  generally  exaggerates,  and  too  often 
deals  in  absolute  fable  ;  Joutel  is  faithful  and  veracious — he  relates  what 
he  saw,  and  gives  good  authority  for  what  he  heard  and  learned ;  and 
the  "  Relations"  of  the  missionaries  may  safely  be  relied  on,  as  contain 
ing  truthful  reports  of  their  acts,  their  discoveries,  their  proceedings, 
and  their  consequent  effects. 

Although  British  writers  mention  a  discovery  of  the  Mississippi  in 
1564,  by  an  Englishman  named  Wood,  yet  no  proofs  have  been  exhibited, 
no  authority  produced  for  this  assertion ;  and  this  person  must  not  bo 
confounded  with  the  Colonel  Wood,  of  Virginia,  who  is  mentioned  by  Coxe 
as  having  discovered  several  branches  of  the  great  rivers  Ohio  and  Mes- 
chasebe.1  Marquette  and  Joliet  were  undoubtedly  the  first  Europeans 
who  are  known  to  have  discovered  and  explored  the  Great  River  of  the 
West.  No  doubt  can  be  entertained  of  the  genuineness  of  the  narrative 
of  Marquette:  the  manuscript  was  sent  to  France,  where  it  was  printed 
by  Thevenot,  at  Paris,  in  1681,  accompanied  with  a  map  :  this  publica- 


1  Long's  Expedition,  vol.  i.  236. 
VOL.  I.— 20 


306  NOTES   TO   CHAPTER  I. 

tion  can  be  relied  on,  but  the  translation  (I  believe  the  only  English 
one  extant)  published  at  London,  in  1698,  as  a  supplement  to  Hennepin's 
"New  Discovery,"  is  (as  has  been  well  remarked  by  Sparks)  defective, 
erroneous,  and  thrown  into  the  shade  by  the  pretended  discoveries  of 
that  mendacious  traveller,  who,  several  years  after  the  death  of  La  Salle, 
falsely  assumed  to  himself  the  merit  of  having  descended  the  Missis 
sippi  to  its  mouth.  The  evidences  of  the  authenticity  of  Marquette's 
narrative  have  thus  been  summed  up  by  his  biographer : — l 

"  Marquette's  map,  attached  to  the  narrative,  in  Thevenot's  '  Recueil'  is 
unquestionably  the  first  that  was  ever  published  of  the  Mississippi  River. 
In  this  light  it  is  extremely  curious;  but  it  is  also  valuable  as  confirm 
ing  the  genuineness  of  the  narrative.  It  was  impossible  to  construct  it. 
•without  having  seen  the  principal  objects  delineated.  The  five  great 
rivers,  Arkansas,  Ohio,  Missouri,  Illinois,  and  Wisconsin,  in  regard  to  their 
relative  positions  and  general  courses,  are  placed  with  a  considerable  de 
gree  of  accuracy.2  Several  names  are  entered  on  the  map  which  are  still 
retained,  and  near  the  same  places,  with  slight  differences  in  the  ortho 
graphy.  The  Wisconsin  (or  as  the  French  write  it,  Ouisconsin)  is  writ 
ten  '  Mississing'  in  the  map.  It  is  '  Mescousin'  in  the  narrative,  perhaps 
by  a  typographical  mistake  for  '  Mesconsin.'  The  Missouri,  it  is  true,  is 
named  in  the  narrative  '  Pekitanoni,'  which  it  may  at  that  time  have 
"been  called  by  the  natives  ;  but  in  the  map,  a  village  is  placed  on  the 
bank  of  that  river,  called  '  Oumissouri.' " 

"  The  Ohio  is  called  '  Ouabouquigou'  in  which  we  may  see  the  elements' 
of  '  Ouabache/  which  name  it  retains  in  all  the  early  French  maps,  the; 
river  itself  being  denominated  by  what  is  now  regarded  as  one  of  its 
principal  branches. 

"  The  Arkansas  is  not  named  on  the  map,  but  in  the  narrative  we  are 
told  of  the  village  of  '  Akamsca/  near  the  banks  of  that  river,  which  is 
evidently  the  same  name. 

"  To  the  northward  of  the  Arkansas  is  a  place  on  the  map  called 
'  Matchigamca  ;'  the  same  name  is  found  to  this  day,  on  French  maps,, 
applied  to  a  lake  very  near  the  same  place  and  a  little  to  the  northward 
of  the  River  St.  Francis. 

"  It  should  be  kept  in  mind  that  this  map  was  published  at  Paris,  in 
the  year  1681,  and  consequently  the  year  before  the  discoveries  of  La 
Salle  on  the  Mississippi,  and  that  no  intelligence  respecting  the  country 
it  represents  could  then  have  been  obtained  from  any  source  subse 
quently  to  the  voyage  of  Marquette.  There  is  a  slight  error  in  the  map, 

1  Sparks's  Life  of  Marquette. 

2  Rock  River  is  also  marked  on  the  map.— W.  R.  S. 


NOTE  B.-AN  ACCOUNT  OF  NEW  FRAN<SE/ 


in  regard  to  the  dotted  line  marked  "  Chemin  de  Reteut;^  "because  the 
narrative  is  very  explicit  in  stating  that  the  voyagers  returned  up  a 
river,  which  from  the  4'escription  given  of  it,  could  t>e  no  other  than  thet 
Illinois.  This  dotted  line  therefore,  must  have  beetis  a  conjectural  addi 
tion." 

These  internal  evidences  of  authenticity  are  satisfactory,  and  they 
have  lately  acquired  a  most  powerful  addition  of  strength.  At  a  meet 
ing  of  the  New  York  Historical  Society,  on  the  7th  of  April,  1852,  Mr. 
Moore  presented  and  read  a  communication  from  John  G.  Shea,  accom 
panying  the  original  map  of  Father  Marquette,  detailing  the  results  of 
his  discovery  and  exploration  of  the  Mississippi  River,  in  the  year  1673, 
from  which  we  make  the  following  extracts  :  — 

"  Meanwhile,  Father  Marquette,  broken  in  health,  was  reposing  for  a 
while  at  the  Mission  of  St.  Francis,  awaiting  the  moment  when  his 
health  should  permit,  to  revisit  his  Mission  of  the  Immaculate  Concep 
tion,  in  Illinois,  which  he  had  founded  as  he  was  returning  from  the 
Mississippi.  It  was  not  till  September  that  he  felt  strong  enough  to  un 
dertake  the  journey,  and  he  accordingly  set  out  soon  after.  Before  his 
departure,  he  transmitted,  as  his  autograph  journal  shows,  copies  of  his 
journal  down  the  Mississippi,  or  Conception  River,  and  doubtless  the 
map,  which  is  this  evening  offered  for  the  inspection  of  the  Historical, 
Society,  and  which  now  belongs  to  the  archives  of  St.  Mary's  College, 
Montreal. 

"He  (Marquette)  did  not  seek  to  publish  his  discovery,  and  if  his 
superiors  did,  at  the  time,  the  court  probably  prevented  it  for  fear  of  ex 
citing  the  jealousy  of  Spain.  It  was  never  published  by  the  Jesuits  as 
a  continuation  of  their  relations,  and  when  issued  by  Thevenot,  was 
pruned  so  as  to  say  nothing  of  the  object  in  view.1  The  map  in  Theve 
not,  when  compared  with  the  autogr.aph,  shows,  however,  still  greater 
discrepancy.  The  likeness  is  too  little  to  be  easily  discerned,  while  tho 
unlikeness  is  apparent.  I  have  now  but  to  add  a  word  as  to  the  his&ry 
of  the  map,  which  thus  comes  before  the  world,  nearly  two  htuidred 
years  after  it  was  penned.  The  last  published  volume  of  the  Jesuit  Re 
lations  is  that  for  1671-2.  This  was  published  by  Father  Claude  Da- 
blon,  the  Superior  of  the  Canada  Mission,  at  the  time.  He  prepared  for 
the  press  the  volume  of  the  ensuing  year,  but  for  some  reason,  now  un 
known,  the  publication  was  stopped.  The  obstacle  was  apparently  a. 
temporary  one,  for  he  next  drew  up  a  relation  embracing  a  period  of  six 

1  To  explore   the  Great  River,  to  see  whether  it  ran  to  the  Gulf  of  California, 
and  opened   the  way  to  China,  or  passed  itself  by  the  realm  of  Quivira,  which    > 
teemed  with  gold.     Shea's  Com. 


308  KOTES  TO   CHAPTER  I. 

years,  to  1679,  and  also  an  account  of  the  voyages  and  death  of  Father 
Marquette.  None  of  these  were  ever  published,  and  the  collection  was 
apparently  abandoned.  These  manuscripts,  with  some  others,  including 
the  last  journal  and  map  of  Marquette,  various  papers  copied  under  the 
direction  of  Father  Ragueneau  and  Father  Poncet,  remained  in  the  ar 
chives  of  the  College  of  Quebec,  unheeded  and  unknown,  till  the  French, 
war,  as  we  on  this  side  call  that,  which  ended  in  the  conquest  of  Canada. 
"VYhen  the  British  flag  had  replaced  the  lilies  of  France  at  Quebec,  the 
English  Government  excited  in  her  former  colonies  a  burst  of  indigna 
tion  by  an  act  maintaining  the  Catholic  Church  of  Canada  in  its  actual 
state.  It  made  one  sacrifice  however  to  prejudice;  the  two  religious  or 
ders  of  men  then  in  Canada,  were  peculiarly  obnoxious  to  the  colonists : 
these  were  the  Jesuits  and  the  Recollects.  As  to  them,  it  was  decreed 
that  no  new  members  were  to  bo  admitted,  and  that  when  the  last  surviv 
ing  priest  expired,  the  property  of  the  order  should  revert  to  the  crown. 
The  last  survivor  of  the  Jesuits  died  in  1800  ;  but  previous  to  his  death 
he  took  from  the  archives  the  more  valuable  papers,  including  those  we 
have  named,  and  committed  them  to  the  care  of  the  Hospital  Nuns.  Tho 
other  papers  were  seized  by  the  sheriff,  at  his  death,  and  are  now  chiefly 
lost  or  scattered.  Those  thus  saved  by  Father  Cazot  remained  in  the 
Hotel  Dieu  till  1844,  when  they  were  presented  by  their  faithful  guar 
dians  to  the  Jesuits,  who  but  two  years  before  had  entered  that  land  so 
rick  in  historical  reminiscences,  to  a  fellow-religious  of  a  Jogues,  a  Bre- 
beuf,  and  a  Marquette.  We  are  indebted  for  its  presence  here,  to  the 
kindness  of  the  President  of  St.  Mai-y's  College,  the  Reverend  F.  Martin, 
who  has  agreed  to  its  publication  in  New  York,  in  the  historical  collec 
tions  of  Mr.  French."1 


NOTE  C.     Pago  41. 

ACCOUNT  OF  THE  TAKING  POSSESSION  OF  LOUISIANA. 

BY  M.  DE  LA  SALLE.       1682. 

roces  verbal  of  the  taking  possession  of  Louisiana,  at  the  mouth  of 
the  Mississippi,  by  the  Sieur  de  la  Salic,  on  the  9th  of  April,  1682: — 

"Jacques  de  la  Metairie,  notary  of  Fort  Frontenac  in  New  France, 
commissioned  to  exercise  the  said  function  of  notary  during  the  voyage 

1  See  Transactions  of  New  York  Historical  Society,  1852.  Marquette's  map  bag, 
since,  been  published,  by  Mr.  J.  G.  Shea,  in  a  volume  accompanying  the  Narratives 
of  Marquette,  Allouez,  Mcmbre,  Hennepin,  Douay,  &c.,  a  highly  valuable  addition 
$o  the  documents  of  Western  history. 


NOTE  C.— TAKING  POSSESSION  OF   LOUISIANA.          3Q<> 

to  Louisiana,  in  North  America,  by  M.  cle  la  Salle,  Governor  of  Fort 
Frontenac  for  the  King,  and  commandant  of  the  said  discovery,  by  the 
commission  of  his  Majesty,  given  at  St.  Germain,  on  the  12th  of  May,  1678. 

"  To  all  those  to  whom  these  presents  shall  como  greeting : — Know 
that  having  been  requested  by  the  said  Sieur  de  la  Salle  to  deliver  to  him 
an  act,  signed  by  us,  and  by  the  witnesses  therein  named,  of  possession, 
by  him  taken  of  the  country  of  Louisiana,  near  the  three  mouths  of  the 
river  Colbert1  in  the  Gulf  of  Mexico,  on  the  9th  of  April,  1682. 

"  In  the  name  of  the  most  high,  mighty,  invincible,  and  victorious 
Prince,  Louis  the  Great,  by  the  Grace  of  God,  King  of  France  and  of 
Navarre,  fourteenth  of  that  name,  and  of  his  heirs,  and  the  successor  of 
his  crown,  We,  the  aforesaid  Notary,  have  delivered  the  said  act  to  the 
said  Sieur  de  la  Salle,  the  tenor  whereof  follows. 

"  On  the  27th  of  December,  1681,  M.  de  la  Salle  departed  on  foot  to 
join  M.  Do  Tonty,  who  had  preceded  him  with  his  followers,  and  all  his 
equipage,  40  leagues  into  the  Miamis  country,  where  the  ice  on  the  river 
Chekagou,  in  the  country  of  the  Mascoutens,  had  arrested  his  progress, 
and  where,  when  the  ice  became  stronger,  they  used  sledges  to  drag  the 
baggage,  the  canoes,  and  a  wounded  Frenchman,  through  the  whole  length 
of  this  river,  and  on  the  Illinois,  a  distance  of  70  leagues. 

"  At  length  all  the  French  being  together,  on  the  25th  of  January,  1682, 
we  came  to  Pimiteoui.  From  that  place,  the  river  being  frozen  only  in 
some  parts,  we  continued  our  route  to  the  river  Colbert  60  leagues,  or 
thereabouts,  from  Pimiteoui,  and  90  leagues  or  thereabouts,  from  the 
village  of  the  Illinois.  We  reached  the  banks  of  the  river  Colbert  on  the 
6th  of  January  and  remained  there  until  the  13th,  waiting  for  the  savages, 
•whose  progress  had  been  impeded  by  the  ice.  On  the  13th,  all  having 
assembled,  we  renewed  our  voyage,  being  22  French  carrying  arms,  ac 
companied  by  the  Reverend  Father  Zenobe  Mambre,  one  of  the  Recollet 
Missionaries,  and  followed  by  18  New-England  savages,  and  several  wo 
men,  Ilgonquiries,  Otchipoises,  and  Iluronnes. 

*'  On  the  14th,  we  arrived  at  the  village  of  Maroa,  consisting  of  a  hun 
dred  cabin?  without  inhabitants.  Proceeding  about  a  hundred  leagues 
down  the  river  Colbert,  we  went  ashore  to  hunt  on  the  26th  of  February. 
A  Frenchman  was  lost  in  the  woods,  and  it  was  reported  to  M.  de  la  S:ille 
that  a  large  number  of  savages  had  been  seen  in  the  vicinity.  Thinking 
that  they  might  have  siozed  the  Frenchman,  and  in  order  to  observe  these 
savages,  he  marched  through  the  woods  during  two  days,  but  without 
finding  them,  because  they  had  all  been  frightened  by  the  guns  which 
they  had  heard,  and  had  fled. 

1  Mississippi. 


NOTES  TO  CHAPTER  I. 

"Returning  to  camp,  he  sent  in  every  direction  French  and  savages  on 
the  search,  with  orders,  if  they  fell  in  with  savages,  to  take  them  alive 
•without  injury,  that  he  might  gain  from  them  intelligence  of  this  French 
man.  Gabriel  Barbie,  with  two  savages,  having  met  five  of  the  Chikacha 
nation,  captured  two  of  them.  They  were  received  with  all  possible 
kindness,  and  after  he  had  explained  to  them  that  he  was  anxious  about 
a  Frenchman  who  had  been  lost,  and  that  he  only  detained  them  that  he 
.•might  rescue  him  from  their  hands,  if  he  was  really  among  them,  and 
afterwards  make  with  them  an  advantageous  peace,  (the  French  doing 
good  to  every  body;)  they  assured  him  that  they  had  not  seen  the  man 
whom  we  sought,  but  that  peace  would  bo  received  with  the  greatest  satis 
faction.  Presents  were  then  given  to  them,  and,  as  they  had  signified 
that  one  of  their  villages  was  not  more  than  half  a  day's  journey  distant, 
M.  de  la  Salle  set  out  the  next  day  to  go  thither  ;  but,  after  travelling  till 
night,  and  having  remarked  that  they  often  contradicted  themselves  in 
their  discourse,  he  declined  going  farther  without  more  provisions.  Hav 
ing  pressed  them  to  tell  the  truth,  they  confessed  that  it  was  yet  four  days' 
journey  to  their  villages  ;  and  perceiving  that  M.  de  la  Salle  was  angry 
at  having  been  deceived,  they  proposed  that  one  of  them  should  remain 
•with  him,  while  the  other  carried  the  news  to  the  village,  whence  the 
elders  would  come  and  join  them  four  days'  journey  below  that  place. 
The  said  Sieur  de  la  Salle  returned  to  the  camp  with  one  of  these  Chika- 
chas ;  and  the  Frenchman  whom  we  sought  having  been  found,  he  con 
tinued  his  voyage  and  passed  the  river  of  the  Chepontias,  and  the  village 
of  the  Metsigameas.  The  fog,  which  was  very  thick,  prevented  his  finding 
the  passage  which  led  to  the  rendezvous  proposed  by  the  Chikachas. 

'"On  the  12th  of  March,  we  arrived  at  the  Kapaha  village  of  Akansa. 
Having  established  a  peace  there  and  taken  possession,  we  passed,  on 
the  15th,  another  of  their  villages,  situate  on  the  border  of  their  river, 
and  also  two  others  farther  off  in  the  depth  of  the  forest,  and  arrived  at 
that  of  Imaha,  the  largest  village  in  this  nation,  where  peace  was  con 
firmed,  and  where  the  chief  acknowledged  that  the  village  belonged  to 
his  Majesty.  Two  Akansas  embarked  with  M.  de  la  Salle  to  conduct 
him  to  the  Talusas,  their  allies,  about  fifty  leagues  distant,  who  inhabit 
'•eight  villages  upon  the  borders  of  a  little  lake.  On  the  19th  we  passed 
rthe  tillages  of  Tourika,  Jason,  and  Kouera  ;  but  as  they  did  not  border 
-on  the  river,  and  were  hostile  to  the  Akansas  and  Taensas,  we  did  not 
stop  there. 

"  On  the  20th,  we  arrived  at  the  Taensas,  by  whom  we  were  exceed 
ingly  well  received  and  supplied  with  a  large  quantity  of  provisions. 
M.  de  Tonty  passed  a  night  at  one  of  their  villages,  where  there  were 
about  700  men  carrying  arms,  assembled  in  the  place.  Here  again  a 


NOTE  C.— TAKING  POSSESSION  OF  LOUISIANA. 

peace  was  concluded.  A  peace  was  also  made  with  the  Koroas,  whose 
•chief  came  there  from  the  principal  village  of  the  Koroas,  two  leagues 
distant  from  that  of  the  Natches.  The  two  chiefs  accompanied  M.  de  la 
Salle  to  the  banks  of  the  river.  Here  the  Koroa  chief  embarked  with 
him  to  conduct  him  to  his  village,  where  peace  was  again  concluded  with 
this  nation,  which,  besides  the  five  other  villages  of  which  it  is  composed, 
is  allied  to  nearly  forty  others.  On  the  31st,  we  passed  the  village  of 
the  Oumas  without  knowing  it,  on  account  of  the  fog  and  its  distance 
from  the  river. 

"  On  the  3d  of  April,  at  about  10  o'clock  in  the  morning,  we  saw 
among  the  canes  thirteen  or  fourteen  canoes.  M.  de  la  Salle  landed, 
with  several  of  his  people.  Footprints  were  seen,  and  also  savages  a 
little  lower  down,  who  were  fishing,  and  who  fled  precipitately  as  soon 
as  they  discovered  us.  Others  of  our  party  then  went  ashore  on  the  bor 
ders  of  a  marsh  formed  by  the  inundation  of  the  river.  M.  de  la  Salle 
sent  two  Frenchmen,  and  then  two  savages  to  reconnoitre,  who  reported 
that  there  was  a  village  not  far  off,  but  that  the  whole  of  this  marsh, 
covered  with  canes,  must  be  crossed  to  reach  it ;  that  they  had  been 
assailed  with  a  shower  of  arrows  by  the  inhabitants  of  the  town,  who 
had  not  dared  to  engage  with  them  in  the  marsh,  but  who  had  then  with 
drawn,  although  neither  the  French  nor  the  savages  with  them  had  fired, 
on  account  of  the  orders  they  had  received,  not  to  act  unless  in  pressing 
danger.  Presently  we  heard  a  drum  beat  in  the  village,  and  the  cries  and 
howlings  with  which  these  barbarians  are  accustomed  to  make  attacks. 
We  waited  three  or  four  hours,  and  as  we  could  not  encamp  in  this  marsh 
and  seeing  no  one,  and  no  longer  hearing  any  thing,  we  embarked. 

"  An  hour  afterward  we  came  to  the  village  of  Maheouala,  lately  de 
stroyed,  and  containing  dead  bodies  and  marks  of  blood.  Two  leagues 
below  this  place  we  encamped.  We  continued  our  voyage  till  the  6th, 
when  we  discovered  three  channels  by  which  the  river  Colbert  (Mississippi) 
discharges  itself  into  the  sea.  We  landed  on  the  bank  of  the  most  western 
channel,  about  three  leagues  from  its  mouth.  On  the  7th,  M.  de  la  Salle 
went  to  reconnoitre  the  shores  of  the  neighbouring  sea,  and  M.  de  Tonty 
likewise  examined  the  great  middle  channel.  They  found  these  two  out 
lets  beautiful,  large,  and  deep.  On  the  8th,  we  reascended  the  river  a 
little  above  its  confluence  with  the  sea,  to  find  a  dry  place  beyond  the 
reach  of  inundations.  The  elevation  of  the  north  pole  was  here  about 
27°.  Here  we  prepared  a  column  and  a  cross,  and  to  the  said  column, 
were  affixed  the  arms  of  France  with  this  inscription  : — 

"Louis  Le  Grand,  Roi  De  France,  Et  De  Navarre,  Regne; 
Le  Neuvieme  Avril,  1682. 


312  NOTES   TO  CHAPTER   I. 

"  The  -whole  party  under  arms  chaunted  the  Te  Deum,  the  Exaudiat,  the 
Domine  sahumfac  Regem ;  and  then  after  a  salute  of  fire-arms  and  cries 
of  Vive  le  Roi,  the  column  was  erected  by  M.  de  la  Salle,  who,  standing , 
near  it  said,  with  a  loud  voice,  in  French,  "  In  the  name  of  the  most  high, 
mighty,  invincible,  and  victorious  Prince,  Louis  the  Great,  by  the  grace 
of  God,  King  of  France  and  of  Navarre,  fourteenth  of  that  name,  this 
ninth  day  of  April,  one  thousand  six  hundred  and  eighty-two,  I,  in  vir 
tue  of  the  commission  of  his  Majesty,  which  I  hold  in  my  hand,  and 
which  may  be  seen  by  all  whom  it  may  concern,  have  taken,  and  do  now 
take,  in  the  name  of  his  Majesty  and  of  his  successors  to  the  crown,  pos 
session  of  this  country  of  Louisiana,  the  seas,  harbous,  ports,  bays,  adja 
cent  straits  ;  and  all  the  nations,  people,  provinces,  cities,  towns,  villages, 
mines,  minerals,  fisheries,  streams,  and  rivers,  comprised  in  the  extent 
of  said  Louisiana,  from  the  mouth  of  the  great  river  St.  Louis,  on  the 
eastern  side,  otherwise  called  Ohio,  Alighin,  Sipore,  or  Chukagona,  and 
this  with  the  consent  of  the  Chaouanons,  Chikachas,  and  other  people 
dwelling  therein,  with  whom  we  have  made  alliance;  as  also  along  the 
river  Colbert,  or  Mississippi,  and  rivers  which  discharge  themselves 
therein,  from  its  source  beyond  the  country  of  the  Kious  or  Nadouessious, 
and  this  with  their  consent,  and  with  the  consent  of  the  Montantees, 
Ilinois,  Mesigameas,  Natches,  Koroas,  which  are  the  most  considerable 
nations  dwelling  therein,  with  whom  also  we  have  made  alliance,  either 
by  ourselves,  or  by  others  in  our  behalf;1  as  far  as  its  mouth  at  the  sea, 
or  Gulf  of  Mexico,  about  the  27th  degree  of  the  elevation  of  the  north 
pole,  and  also  to  the  mouth  of  the  River  of  Palms;  upon  the  assurance 
which  we  have  received  from  all  these  nations,  that  we  are  the  first  Euro 
peans  who  have  descended  or  ascended  the  said  river  Colbert ;  hereby 
protesting  against  all  those  who  may  in  future  undertake  to  invade  any 
or  all  of  these  countries,  people,  or  lands  above  described,  to  the  preju 
dice  of  the  right  of  his  Majesty,  acquired  by  the  consent  of  the  nations 
herein  named.  Of  which,  and  of  all  that  can  le  needed,  I  hereby  take 
to  witness  those  who  hear  me,  and  demand  an  act  of  the  Notary  as  re 
quired  by  law." 

"  To  which  the  whole  assembly  responded  with  shouts  of  Vive  le  Roi, 
and  with  salutes  of  fire-arms.  Moreover,  the  said  Sieur  de  la  Salle 
caused  to  be  buried  at  the  foot  of  the  tree  to  which  the  cross  was  at- 


'  '  There  is  an  obscurity  in  this  enumeration  of  places  and  Indian  nations,  which 
jnay  be  ascribed  to  an  ignorance  of  tho  geography  of  the  country ;  but  it  seems  to 
"be  the  design  of  M.  de  la  Salle  to  take  possession  of  the  whole  territory  watered  by 
the  Mississippi  from  its  mouth  to  its  source,  and  by  the  streams  flowing  into  it  on 
both  eid«3. — Note  by  Jared  Sparks. 


NOTE  C.— TAKING  POSSESSION  OP  LOUISIANA.         313 

tached,  a  leaden  plate,  on  one  side  of  -which  were  engraved  the  arms  of 
France  with  the  following  Latin  inscription : — 

LVDOVICVS  MAGNVS   REGNAT. 
NONO   APRILIS   CIO  IOC   LXXXII. 

BOBIRTVS  CAVELIER,  CVM  DOMINO  DE  TONTY,  LEGATO.  R.  P.  ZENOBIO  MEM- 
BRE,  RECOLLECTO,  ET  VIGINTI  GALLIS,  PRIMVS  HOC  FLVMEN,  INDE  AB  ILI- 
NEORVM  PAGO,  ENAVIGAVIT  EJVSQVE  OSTIVM  PECIT  PERVIVM,  NONO  APRILIS 
ANNI  CIO  IOC  LXXXII. 

"After  which  the  Sieur  de  la  Salle  said  that  his  Majesty,  as  eldest  son 
of  the  church,  would  annex  no  country  to  his  crown  without  making  it 
his  chief  care  to  establish  the  Christian  religion  therein,  and  that  its 
symbol  must  now  be  planted ;  which  was  accordingly  done  at  once  by 
erecting  a  cross,  before  which  the  Vexilla,  and  the  Domine  salvum  fao 
Regem  were  sung.  AVhereupon  the  ceremony  was  concluded  with  cries 
of  Vive  le  Roi. 

"Of  all  and  every  of  the  above,  the  said  Sieur  de  la  Salle  having  re 
quired  of  us  an  instrument,  we  have  delivered  to  him  the  same,  signed 
by  us,  and  by  the  undersigned  witnesses,  this  ninth  day  of  April,  one 
thousand  six  hundred  and  eighty-two. 

"LA  METAIRIE, 

"Notary, 

"  DE  LA  SALLE, 

"  P.  Zenobe,  Recollet  Missionary 

11  Henry  de  Tonty. 

"  Francois  de  Boisrondet, 

"  Jean  Bourdon. 

"  Sieur  D'Autray. 

"Jacques  Cauchois. 

"  Pierre  You. 

"  Oilles  Meucret. 

"  Jean  Michel,  Surgeon. 

"Jean  Mas. 

11  Jean  Dulignon. 

"  NICOLAS  DE  LA  SALLE." 

This  document  was  procured  by  Mr.  Sparks,  the  biographer  of  DC  la 
Salle,  from  the  archives  of  the  Marine  Department  at  Paris. 


314  NOTES  TO  CHAPTER  I. 

NOTE  D.     Page  45. 

The  sources  of  information  whence  is  drawn  the  account  of  De  la 
Salle,  and  of  his  labours,  his  discoveries,  his  misfortunes,  and  his  death, 
are  few,  but  may  be  relied  on  as  accurate.  They  consist  of  the  memorials 
and  reports  of  De  la  Salle  to  his  government ;  the  Memoir  of  the  Sieur 
de  Tonti,  and  his  petition  to  the  Count  de  Pontchartrain,  recommended 
by  Frontenac ;  the  letters-patent  granted  by  the  King  of  France  to  De 
la  Salle.  dated  12th  May,  1678,  authorizing  him  "to  endeavour  to  dis 
cover  the  western  part  of  New  France,  through  which  it  is  probable  a 
road  may  be  found  to  penetrate  to  Mexico  ;"  JoutePs  journal  of  his  voy 
age  to  Mexico,1  and  so  far  as  the  truth  can  be  extracted  therefrom,  in 
Hennepin's  New  Discovery,  edition  1684,  Paris,  and  edition  1698, 
London. 

The  report  and  memorial  of  De  la  Salle  are  addressed  to  Monsieur 
De  Seignelay,  the  son  of  his  patron  Colbert,  now  deceased,  and  in  which 
he  states  his  great  discoveries,  and  urges  the  importance  of  an  expedition 
by  sea  to  the  Mississippi ;  he  also  speaks  of  the  facility  of  seizing  on  the 
rich  mines  of  St.  Barbe,  and  alludes  to  the  possibility  of  discovering  a 
passage  to  the  South  Sea.  His  propositions  were  acceded  to  by  the  king, 
De  la  Salle  was  authorized  to  build  forts  and  plant  colonies  in  the  new 
country,  and  a  fleet  was  fitted  out,  which  sailed  from  Rochelle,  on  July 
24th,  1684,  on  the  expedition  which  terminated  so  fatally,  and  of  which 
Joutel  became  the  historian. 

The  Memoir  of  the  Sieur  de  la  Tonty  is  entitled  "  Memoir  sent  in 
1693,  on  the  discovery  of  the  Mississippi  and  the  neighbouring  nations, 
by  M.  de  la  Salle,  from  the  year  1678  to  the  time  of  his  death,  and  by 
the  Sieur  de  Tonty,  to  the  year  1691."  This  memoir  forms  the  basis  of 
a  spurious  work  printed  at  Paris  in  1697,  entitled  "  Dernier's  Decou- 
vertes  dans  1'Amerique  Septentrionale,  de  M.  de  la  Salle,  par  Chevalier 
Tonti,  Gouverneur  du  Fort  St.  Louis,  aux  Illinois,  Paris,  1697."  It  has 
been  since  reprinted  under  the  title  of  "  Relation  de  la  Louisiane  ou  de 
Mississippi,  par  le  Chevalier  de  Tonti."  This  work  was  disavowed  by 
Tonti.2  His  petition  to  the  minister  of  marine  to  be  employed  in  actual 
service,  was  written  probably  about  the  year  1700  ;  it  is  without  date, 
and  the  last  that  is  known  of  this  brave  and  generous  man  is  that  he 
joined  Iberville  at  the  mouth  of  the  Mississippi  about  the  year  1700, 

1  These  documents  are  given  at  length  in  Sparks's  Life  of  De  la  Salle,  and  also 
in  French's  Historical  Collections  of  Louisiana. 

2  Charlevoix,  torn.  iii.  385. 


NOTE  E.— TAKING  POSSESSION  OF  LOUISIANA.  315 

and  that  two  years  afterward  he  was  employed  on  a  mission  to  the 
Chickasaw  nation.  No  notice  has  ever  been  taken  of  his  death  ;i  of  his 
life  it  has  been  justly  said — "  All  the  facts  that  can  be  ascertained  con 
cerning  De  Tonty  are  such  as  give  a  highly  favourable  impression  of 
his  character,  both  as  an  officer  and  a  man.  His  constancy  and  his 
steady  devotion  to  La  Salle  are  marked  not  only  by  a  strict  obedience 
to  orders,  but  by  a  faithful  friendship  and  chivalrous  generosity.  His 
courage  and  address  were  strikingly  exhibited  in  his  intercourse  with 
the  Indians,  as  well  in  war  as  in  peace ;  but  his  acts  were  performed 
•where  there  were  few  to  observe,  and  fewer  to  record  them.  Hence  it 
is  that  historians  have  done  him  but  partial  justice.7 ; 

The  journal  of  Joutel  has  always  been  considered  a  valuable  and  au 
thentic  work.  He  accompanied  the  unfortunate  De  la  Salle  from  the 
sailing  of  the  fleet  at  liochelle  until  his  assassination  on  the  banks  of 
Trinity  River.  He  has  faithfully  recorded  the  unfortunate  adventures 
of  La  Salle  and  his  devoted  colony,  from  their  first  settlement  at  Fort  St. 
Louis  in  Texas,  until  the  death  of  La  Salle,  which  occurred  almost 
•within  his  own  presence.  He  afterward  returned  to  France  by  way  of 
the  Mississippi,  Illinois  River,  the  Great  Lakes,  and  Quebec,  and  reached 
Rochelle  on  the  9th  of  October,  1688.  His  journal  was  published  under 
the  supervision  of  Sieur  de  Mitchel,  first  at  Paris,  and  afterward  at 
London  in  1719.  Charlevoix  says  that  "he  saw,  and  conversed  a  long 
time  with  Joutel,  at  Rouen,  in  1723.;;2 


NOTE  E.     Page  51. 


- 


The  internal  evidence  given  by  Hennepin  himself  of  the  falsity  of  his 
pretended  voyage  below  the  Illinois  River,  is  in  part  to  be  found  as  herein 
noted ;  the  exposition  may  be  considered  as  entirely  superfluous,  except 
to  point  out  to  the  curious  reader,  the  little  pains  that  Hennepin  has 
taken  to  conceal  his  fabrications,  by  referring  to  the  glaring  absurdities 
and  contradictions  in  his  relations  and  his  dates :  his  own  narrative  as 
published  in  the  volumes  entitled  "  A  New  Discovery,"  &c.  &c.,  and  the 
"  Continuation,"  edition  of  1698,  furnishes  the  evidence  and  the  proofs 
of  the  mendacity  and  imposture  with  which  he  has  been  charged. 

In  chapter  xxxvi.  page  148,  Ilennepin  has  parted  with  De  la  Salle,  at 
Fort  Crevecoeur,  on  the  29th  of  February,  1680,  and  on  the  12th  of 
March  he  is  at  the  mouth  of  the  Illinois  River,  with  his  companions,  Du 

1  French's  Hist  Col.  80.  2  Charl.  Nouv.  France,  torn.  iii.  56. 


316  NOTES   TO   CHAPTER  I. 

Gay  and  Ako.  From  this  point  his  destination  was  northward,  toward 
the  heads  of  the  Mississippi,  according  to  the  directions  of,  and  his  pre 
vious  arrangements  with  De  la  Salle. 

In  chapter  xliv.  page  180,  the  rivers  falling  into  the  Mississippi,  the 
Lake  of  Tears,  (Lake  Pepin,)  and  the  Falls  of  St.  Anthony  of  Padua,  are 
described,  and  Hennepin  says  that  he  and  his  companions  were  made 
prisoners  by  the  Issati,  or  Naclouessians,  at  the  river  of  St.  Francis,  eight 
leagues  above  the  Falls  of  St.  Anthony. 

In  chapter  xlv.  page  185,  Hennepin  describes  his  voyage  from  the 
Illinois  River  toward  the  sources  of  the  Mississippi,  as  agreed  upon 
between  De  la  Salle  and  himself,  and  stated  in  chapter  xxxvi. ;  and  the 
succeeding  chapters  state  that  (page  186)  he  was  taken  prisoner  on  the 
12th  of  April,  and  that  his  capture  took  place  (page  193)  one  hundred 
and  fifty  leagues  up  the  River  Mississippi,  above  the  Illinois  River.  All 
these  matters  were  published  in  the  edition  of  his  book  in  1684,  dedi 
cated  to  the  King  of  France. 

The  edition  of  1698  is  dedicated  to  the  King  of  England,  and  in  this 
book  all  the  chapters  between  chapters  xxxvi.  and  xliv.  are  interpola 
tions,  and  fabrications  founded  on  the  Relations  of  Marquette,  Le  Clerc, 
and  Father  Anastasius.  The  last  paragraph  of  chapter  xxxvi.  (page  149) 
is  as  follows — "I  am  resolved  to  give  here  an  account  of  the  course  of 
that  river,  (Mississippi,)  which  I  have  hitherto  concealed,  for  the  sake 
of  M.  la  Salle,  who  would  ascribe  to  himself  alone  the  glory,  and  the 
most  secret  part  of  this  discovery.  lie  was  so  fond  of  it  that  he  has  ex 
posed  to  visible  danger  several  persons,  that  they  might  not  publish  what 
they  had  seen,  and  thereby  prejudice  his  secret  designs." 

In  chapter  xxxvii.  Ilennepin  says  that  he  and  his  companions,  Du 
Gay  and  Ako,  after  having  agreed  to  go  down  the  river,  embarked  in 
"  our  canoe  on  the  8th  cf  March,  16SO."  In  six  hours  rowing  they  came 
to  a  river  as  big  as  the  Mississippi,  coming  from  the  westward  ;  (no  doubt 
the  Missouri,  or  Pekitanoni,  of  Marquette.)  On  the  9th  of  March  he  con 
tinues  his  voyage,  and  on  the  10th  comes  to  a  river  near  which  is  a  nation 
called  Ouadebache,  (Wabash,  or  Ohio  River.)  Here  he  stays  until  the 
14th  of  March.  (Page  152.)  On  the  15th  he  sees  three  Chickasaw  In 
dians,  and  two  days  (17th)  afterward  meets  with  the  Akansas.  On  the 
18th  they  embarked  again  (page  154)  and  having  "  hid  their  commodi 
ties"  and  well-marked  the  spot,  passed  another  village  of  the  Akansas, 
(page  155,)  went  into  the  country  of  the  Taensas  on  the  21st,  and  left 
them  on  the  22d,  having  understood  from  them  that  it  was  only  seven 
days' journey  to  the  sea.  They  continued  the  voyage  on  the  24th,  and 
accomplished  a  distance  of  more  than  35  leagues.  (Page  159.)  The  next 
day,  March  25th,  came  to  three  channels  of  the  Mississippi,  took  the 


NOTE  E.— TAKING  POSSESSION  OF  LOUISIANA. 

middle  one,  and  eight  leagues  rowing  enabled  them  to  discover  the  sea. 
(Page  160.) 

From  the  8th  of  March  to  the  25th  is  eighteen  days  inclusive ;  eight 
of  which  is  accounted  for  in  stoppages,  and  other  causes  of  detention ; 
ten  days  only  are  allotted  to  a  voyage  in  a  canoe  rowed  by  three  men 
from  the  mouth  of  the  Illinois  River  to  the  sea !  By  his  own  com 
putation,  Hennepin  says  it  is  about  340  leagues  from  the  Illinois  to 
the  sea ;  this  would  require  the  incredible  speed  of  34  leagues,  more 
than  100  miles,  per  diem.  But  let  us  see  his  account  of  the  return 
voyage. 

On  the  1st  of  April  they  embarked  to  return  toward  the  source  of  the 
river,  (page  162,)  and  arrived  at  Koroa  on  the  4th.  (Page  164.)  At  Taen- 
eas  on  the  7th ;  on  the  9th  at  the  place  where  "  they  had  hid  their  com 
modities,"  and  came  to  the  village  of  the  Akansas.  (Page  165-6-7.) 
They  had  ascended  the  river  as  rapidly  as  they  had  descended — seven 
days  going  down,  and  only  eight  in  coming  up.  "We  left  the  Akansas," 
says  Hennepin,  (page  168,)  "on  the  24th  of  April;"  and  ascending  the 
river,  passed  the  mouth  of  the  Illinois,  without  stopping  at  Fort  Creve- 
coeur,  proceeded  northward;  "my  men,"  says  Hennepin,  (page  179,) 
"  being  afraid  to  meet  with  their  comrades,  for  fear  of  punishment  for  hav 
ing  disobeyed  orders  ;  and  "  I  was  afraid  that  by  these  means  our  voyage 
toward  the  sea  would  be  discovered,  (there  being  some  reasons  to  keep  ife 
secret  as  I  shall  observe  in  another  place,)  and  our  further  discovery 
stopt."  Thia  observation  is  made  in  the  43d  chapter,  (the  last  of  the 
interpolation  from  the  36th,)  and  in  the  very  first  line  Honnepin  reite 
rates,  "We  embarked/'  (from  the  Akansas,)  "  as  I  have  already  said,  on 
the  24th  of  April. ';  According  to  his  true  account,  he  was  taken  pri 
soner  by  the  Sioux  on  the  12th  of  April,  above  the  Falls  of  St.  Anthony; 
what  irreconcileable  statements  ! 

In  these  fabrications  all  merit  of  the  discovery  is  not  only  taken  away 
from  De  la  Salle,  and  denied  to  him,  but  even  Joliet  is  asserted  by  Hen 
nepin  (page  169)  to  have  denied  that  he  had  ever  descended  the  Missis 
sippi.  Marquetts's  Journal  was  published  by  Thevenot  in  1681.  Henne- 
pin's  first  "Account  of  Louisiana"  was  published  in  1684;  he  could 
readily  take  sufficient  facts  from  Marquette,  on  which  to  build  his  own 
fictions. 

Charlevoix,  in  speaking  of  Ilennepin's  narrations,  says — "  It  is  even. 
-sufficiently  difficult  to  comprehend  how  they  could  go  to  its  mouth,  (the 
Mississippi,)  descend  it,  and  reascend  it  up  to  the  forty-sixth  degree, 
remain  during  many  months  prisoners  among  the  Sioux,  and  all  this  in 
less  than  a  year.  Besides,  has  it  not  always  been  believed  in  Canada 
that  they  had  done  nothing  else  but  return  to  Fort  Crevecoeur  by  the 


318  NOTES  TO   CHAPTER  I. 

same  route  which  they  had  taken  in  going  up  as  far  as  the  Falls  of  St. 
Anthony."1 

With  regard  to  the  effect  produced  in  England  by  the  pretended  dis 
coveries  of  Ilennepin,  we  make  the  following  extracts  from  Charlevoix  :2 
"  Iberville  returned  to  Biloxi  the  18th  of  January,  1700.  On  arriving 
there,  he  learned  that  towards  the  end  of  September  the  preceding  yearr 
an  English  corvette  of  twelve  guns  had  entered  the  Mississippi ;  that 
Monsieur  Bienville,  who  had  gone  to  sound  the  mouths  of  this  river,  had 
met  with  this  vessel  twenty-five  leagues  from  the  sea,3  and  had  declared 
to  her  commander  that  if  he  did  not  withdraw,  he  was  in  condition  to 
compel  him  ;  that  this  menace  had  had  its  effect ;  but  that  the  English 
in  retiring,  had  told  him  that  they  would  soon  return  with  greater  force ; 
that  it  was  more  than  fifty  years  since  they  had  discovered  this  country, 
and  that  they  had  greater  right  than  the  French." 

"  Iberville  learned  at  the  same  time  that  other  English,  come  from1 
Carolina,  were  among  the  Chicachas,  with  whom  they  carried  on  a  com 
merce  in  furs  and  slaves,  and  that  they  had  been  known  to  have  solicited 
the  savages  to  kill  an  ecclesiastic,  who  was  in  reality  massacred  among 
the  Tonicas." 

"  The  Chevalier  Tonti  arrived  with  about  twenty  Canadiens,  settled  at 
the  Illinois,  and  M.  d'Iberville  having  spoken  to  him  of  the  Relation 
which  went  under  his  name,  he  protested  that  it  was  not  himself,  but  a 
Parisian  adventurer,  who  had  composed  it  on  bad  narratives,  and  had 
attributed  it  to  him  to  give  it  circulation  and  to  gain  money." 

"  It  was  not  possible  that  Father  Ilennepin  did  as  much  as  this  with  his 
third  Relation,  since  we  know  that  he  was  himself  the  editor  of  it.  Never 
theless  we  can  scarcely  doubt  that  it  was  upon  these  memoirs  that  the 
English  entered  the  Mississippi.  "  I  have  learned,"  wrote  M.  de  Callieres 
to  M.  de  Pontchartrain,  the  12th  of  May,  1699,  "  that  they  are  preparing 
vessels  in  England  and  in  Holland,  to  take  possession  of  Louisiana,  upon, 
the  Relation  of  Pere  Louis  Ilennepin,  a  llecollect,  who  has  made  a  book 
of  it,  dedicated  to  King  William." 

"  In  a  second  letter,  written  a  month  after  the  first,  the  general  tells  the 
same  minister  that  he  had  been  assured  that  the  King  of  Great  Britain, 
in  the  embarrassment  in  which  they  were  in  England  to  subsist  the  French 
refugees,  had  sent,  the  preceding  autumn,  a  great  number  of  them  in 
three  ships,  to  take  possession  of  the  Mississippi  ;  and  that  twenty  Eng 
lishmen  from  New  York,  had  left,  to  go  to  the  Illinois,  under  pretence 

1  Charlevoix,  torn.  ii.  271.  2Idem.  torn.  iii.  384-5-6. 

3  The  river  at  this  point  makes  a  great  bend,  which  since  that  time  has  been, 
named  English  Turn. 


NOTE  E.— TAKING  POSSESSION   OF   LOUISIANA,  3^9 

that  all  the  country  to  the  south  belonged  to  them.  In  fact,  since  the  month 
of  October,  1G98,  three  ships  had  sailed  from  London  for  Louisiana,  but 
they  had  put  into  Carolina,  from  whence  some  time  afterward  two  sailed, 
one  of  twenty-four  guns  and  the  other  of  twelve." 

"  They  went  to  the  head  of  the  Gulf  of  Mexico  to  search  for  the  Missis 
sippi,  because  their  charts  there  placed  the  great  river.  Not  having  found 
it,  they  retook  their  route  to  the  east,  following  always  the  coast  in  sight, 
until  they  at  last  discovered  what  they  sought  for.  The  smallest  of  these 
two  ships  entered  the  river,  and  it  was  this  one  that  M.  de  Bienville  had 
caused  to  retire.  The  other  returned  to  the  west,  and  penetrated  as  fac 
as  the  Province  of  Panuco  in  New  Spain.  Thus  the  French  colony  of 
Louisiana,  still  in  its  cradle,  found  itself  menaced  by  two  powerful 
neighbours  equally  jealous  of  the  establishment,  the  Spaniards  and  the 
English." 

The  claims  of  discovery,  and  the  assumption  of  rights  founded  on 
travellers'  falsehoods,  and  interpolations  in  books  and  documents,  find  a 
parallel  in  our  own  times,  in  the  history  of  the  claims  of  England  to  the 
Columbia  River. 


NOTES  TO  CHAPTER  II. 

NOTE  A.    Page  58. 

VALLEY  OF   THE   MISSISSIPPI. 

The  following  note  is  extracted  from  La  Harpe,  Journal 
tie  d'etablissement  des  Francais  a  La  Louisiane. 

On  December  7th,  1699,  Messrs.  Iberville  and  La  Surjere  arrived  with 
the  Renommee  of  50  guns,  and  the  Gironde  of  46  guns,  with  several  of 
ficers  from  the  garrison,  and  also  with  M.  le  Sueur,  and  thirty  workmen. 
He  was  sent  by  Mr.  L'Huillier,  a  farmer-general,  to  form  an  establish 
ment  at  the  source  of  the  Mississippi.  The  design  of  the  enterprise  was 
to  explore  a  mine  of  green  earth  which  Le  Sueur  had  discovered,  and 
this  is  what  gave  rise  to  the  enterprise.  In  1695,  Le  Sueur,  by  order  of 
the  Count  de  Frontenac,  governor-general  of  Canada,  caused  to  be  con 
structed  a  fort  on  an  island  in  the  Mississippi,  more  than  200  leagues 
above  the  Illinois,  in  order  to  effect  a  peace  between  the  Sauteurs,  (Leap- 
ers,)  nations  who  dwell  on  the  borders  of  a  lake  more  than  500  leagues 
in  circumference,  situate  100  leagues  to  the  east  of  the  river,  and  the 
Sioux,  located  near  the  heads  of  the  Mississippi. 

Le  Sueur  in  the  same  year  took  to  Montreal,  Chin-gou-abe,  chief  of  the 
Sauteurs,  and  a  Sioux  chief  named  Ci-os-cate,  who  was  the  first  of  the 
nation  who  had  seen  Canada.  Amity  was  established,  and,  in  1696,  Le 
Sueur  purposed  to  return  to  the  Mississippi,  when  the  Sioux  chief  died 
after  thirty  days'  suffering  at  Montreal.  Le  Sueur  was  thus  relieved 
from  his  promise  to  reconduct  the  chief  to  his  own  country,  where  he 
had  discovered  mines  of  lead,  copper,  and  blue  and  green  earth,  and  he 
resolved  to  go  to  France  and  obtain  permission  of  the  court  to  open, 
them:  this  permission  he  obtained  in  1697.  He  sailed  from  Rochelle, 
"but  was  taken  prisoner  by  the  English  on  the  banks  of  Newfoundland, 
and  taken  to  Portsmouth.  After  the  peace  he  returned  to  Paris  to  ob 
tain  a  new  commission,  having  thrown  his  former  one  overboard  for  fear 
the  English  should  obtain  knowledge  of  his  project.  He  obtained  a  new 
commission  in  1698,  and  afterward  came  to  Canada,  where  he  met  with 
obstacles  which  obliged  him  to  return  to  France.  Amid  all  these  disap 
pointments,  a  part  of  the  people  whom  he  had  left  to  guard  the  fort 
•which  he  had  built  in  1695,  not  hearing  any  thing  of  him,  went  down  to 
Montreal. 

320 


NOTE  A.— VALLEY  OF  THE  MISSISSIPPI.  321 

•On  the  10th  of  February,  1702,  Le  Sueur  arrived  (at  Biloxi)  with 
2000  quintals  of  blue  and  green  earth  from  the  Sioux  country.  He  gave 
an  account  of  his  voyage  up  the  Mississippi,  of  which  the  following  are 
extracts:  they  are  made,  to  give  the  early  names  of  the  rivers  and 
distances. 

The  13th  of  July,  1700,  he  left  the  mouth  of  the  Missouri ;  at  six: 
leagues  farther,  the  Illinois ;  at  twenty-two  leagues  above  the  Illinois 
River,  he  passed  a  little  river  which  he  named  "Aux  Boeufs."  Nine 
leagues  farther,  he  met  seventeen  Sioux  on  a  war  excursion  against  tho 
Illinois,  to  avenge  the  death  of  three  Sioux,  one  of  whom  had  been 
burned.  He  appeased  the  Sioux  by  telling  them  that  the  King  of  France 
•wished  that  the  river  no  longer  should  be  stained  with  blood,  and  that 
he  had  been  sent  to  tell  them,  if  they  would  obey  his  word,  he  would  in 
the  end  give  them  all  things  that  were  necessary  for  them.  The  chief 
accepted  his  presents,  and  promised  to  do  as  he  desired.  From  the  30th 
of  July  to  the  25th  of  August,  Le  Sueur  advanced  fifty-two  leagues  to  a 
little  river  which  he  named  "  The  River  of  the  Mines."1  It  comes  from 
the  north  at  its  mouth,  and  flows  from  the  northeast.  Seven  leagues  to 
the  right,  there  is  a  lead-mine  in  a  prairie,  a  league  and  a  half  inland. 
This  river,  except  the  first  three  leagues,  is  only  navigable  in  times  when 
the  waters  are  high,  that  is  to  say,  from  spring  to  the  month  of  June. 

From  the  25th  to  the  27th  he  made  ten  leagues,  passed  two  rivers,2 
and  took  notice  of  a  lead-mine,  at  which  he  supplied  himself.  From 
the  27th  to  the  30th  he  made  eleven  and  one-half  leagues.  On  September 
1st,  he  passed  the  Ouisconsin  ;  it  comes  from  the  northeast  at  its  mouth, 
and  flows  from  the  east ;  it  is  about  one-half  league  wide.  About  forty- 
five  leagues  up  the  river,  to  the  right,  is  a  portage  a  league  in  length ; 
one-half  of  this  distance  is  boggy  (trembling)  ground ;  at  the  termina 
tion  there  is  a  little  river  which  descends  to  a  bay,  called  the  "  Bay  des 
Puans,"  inhabited  by  a  great  number  of  nations  who  take  their  peltries 
to  Canada.  It  was  by  this  river,  Wisconsin,  that  Le  Sueur  came  for  the 
first  time  to  the  Mississippi  in  1693,  to  go  to  the  Sioux  country,  where  he 
lived  at  different  times  for  seven  years.  From  September  1st  to  the  5th, 
he  advanced  fourteen  leagues ;  he  passed  "  Canoe  River''  which  comes 
from  the  northeast,  and  afterward  "  Quincapous,"  so  named  from  a  na 
tion  who  formerly  lived  on  its  borders.  From  the  5th  to  the  9th,  made 
ten  and  a  half  leagues,  and  passed  the  rivers  "  Cachee,"  and  "  Aux 
Ailes."  Three  leagues  farther,  passed  a  little  river  on  the  western  side, 
and  afterward  a  much  larger  one  on  the  east  of  the  Mississippi ;  this  is 
navigable  at  all  times.  From  the  10th  to  the  14th,  made  seventeen  and 

1  Fevre  River.  2  platte  and  Grant  Rivers. 

VOL.  I.—21 


322  NOTES   TO   CHAPTER  II. 

a  half  leagues ;  passed  the  river  "  Raisins"  and  "  Des  Paquillinettes." 
The  same  day,  he  left  to  the  east  a  large  and  beautiful  river,  which  de 
scends  from  far  north,  and  is  named  "  Bonne  Secours,"  from  the  great 
number  of  buffalo,  stags,  bears,  and  roebucks  which  are  found  there. 
Three  leagues  on  the  river  there  is  a  lead-mine,  and  seven  leagues  above, 
on  the  same  side,  we  find  another  river  of  long  course,  near  which  there 
is  a  copper-mine,  from  which  he  had  taken  a  piece  of  sixty  pounds  weight 
in  his  preceding  voyage.  A  league  and  a  half  from  this  neighbourhood, 
to  the  northwest,  begins  a  lake  six  leagues  long,  and  more  than  a  league 
wide,  called  "  Lake  Pepin."  Saltpetre  caves  are  found  in  the  moun 
tains  which  border  this  lake  to  the  west.  Seven  and  a  half  leagues 
above  the  lake,  passed  another  river  called  "  Hiambouxeate  Onataba/7 
which  signifies  the  River  of  Flat  Rocks. 

Fifteenth,  passed  a  small  river ;  sixteenth,  left  to  the  east  a  large 
river  called  "  St.  Croix,"  because  a  Frenchman  of  that  name  was  ship 
wrecked  at  the  mouth  of  it.  It  comes  from  N.N.W. ;  at  four  leagues 
higher  up,  ascending  it,  we  find  a  small  lake,  at  the  entrance  of  which 
is  a  very  large  mass  of  copper.  It  is  on  the  bank  of  the  water,  in  a 
little  shore  of  sandy  earth,  to  the  west  of  the  lake.  From  the  ICth  to 
the  19th,  advanced  thirteen  and  three-fourths  leagues.  Since  he  left 
Tamarois,  two  hundred  and  seven  and  a  half  leagues.  At  this  place  he 
left  the  Mississippi  and  entered  the  St.  Peter's  River  on  the  west.  On. 
this,  to  the  first  of  October,  he  made  forty-four  and  a  half  leagues ;  then, 
entered  the  Blue  River,  so  named  on  account  of  the  mines  of  blue  earth 
which  are  found  at  the  mouth  of  the  river.  Here  he  was  told  by  nine 
Sioux  whom  he  met,  that  this  river  was  the  country  of  the  Sioux  of  the 
West,  of  the  Ayavois  (lowas)  and  of  the  Otoctatas,  a  little  farther  dis 
tant.  Here  he  has  established  himself  in  44  degrees  13  minutes  north 
latiiude,  and  built  a  fort,  which  he  called  "Fort  L'Huillier." 


NOTE  B.     Page  59. 

A  synopsis  of  the  16th  letter  of  La  Hontan,  extracted  from  vol.  i.  p. 
174  to  260,  is  here  given.  This  letter  is  dated  "  Michillimackinac,  28th 
May,  1689." 

This  letter,  written  after  his  return  from  his  expedition  to  the  "  Long 
River,"  states,  that  he  left  Michillimackinac,  September  24th,  1688,  with 
twenty  soldiers,  and  five  Outagamie  Indians,  in  canoes,  with  provisions 
and  merchandise  proper  to  traffic  with  the  Southern  savages.  Having 
traversed  Green  Bay,  they  entered  the  ftiyer  of  the  Puants,  passed  Jhe 


NOTE   B.—  VALLEY  OF  THE   MISSISSIPPI.  323 

Palls  of  Kakalin,  the  village  of  the  Kikapous,  and  on  the  llth  of  Octo 
ber  reached  the  little  lake  of  the  Malominies.  Here  he  obtained  three 
sacks  of  wild  rice  flour,  from  the  Malominies,  which,  as  he  had  made  them 
a  present  of  "  three  fathoms  of  tobacco/7  he  says  was  no  great  stretch 
of  generosity,  as  that  grain  is  with  them  almost  as  common  as  water, 
their  lake  being  covered  with  it.  On  the  13th,  they  arrived  at  the  Fort 
of  the  Outagamies,  who  received  them  in  a  most  hospitable  manner. 
Penetrating  the  suspicions  of  the  chief,  that  he  was  going  to  traffic  with 
his  enemies,  La  Hontan  told  him  not  to  fear,  for  he  would  not  go  within 
a  hundred  leagues  of  the  Nadowessious,  as  his  intention  was  to  explore 
the  "Long  River"  to  its  source,  and  he  asked  the  chief  to  give  him  six 
warriors  to  accompany  him.  The  chief  was  delighted  to  hear  that  he 
was  not  about  to  supply  his  enemies  the  Nadowessious  with  arms  and 
ammunition,  but  advised  him  to  take  care  of  himself  and  not  go  too  high 
up  the  "Long  River,"  as  he  would  find  a  great  number  of  people  by 
whom  he  might  be  overcome,  if  not  in  open  war,  yet  by  stratagem  and 
surprise.  Nevertheless  the  chief  gave  him  not  only  six,  but  ten  warriors, 
who  were  acquainted  with  the  Eokoros,  knew  their  language  and  the 
chart  of  the  country.  Having  made  several  valuable  presents  to  the 
chief  and  his  family,  he  left  them  on  the  20th,  and  in  the  evening  of  the 
same  day  disembarked  at  the  point  where  they  were  to  leave  the  River 
of  the  Puants,  (Fox  River.)  In  three-quarters  of  a  league  of  difficult 
portage  they  reached  the  Wisconsin. 

In  four  days  they  reached  the  Mississippi  River,  "  into  which  this 
hateful  Wisconsin  discharges  itself,"1  and  commenced  ascending  it.  On 
the  7th  of  November  they  arrived  at  the  mouth  of  the  "  Long  River/' 
which  they  entered  and  found  themselves  in  a  kind  of  lake,  almost  wholly 
covered  with  reeds,  but  just  about  the  middle  there  was  a  narrow  chan 
nel.  This  sort  of  navigation  among  rushes  continued  for  twenty  leagues, 
but  they  finally  emerged  in  a  fine  stream,  bordered  with  lofty  woods  and 
wide  prairies.  Meeting  with  many  and  numerous  tribes  of  Indians  on 
their  route,  on  the  27th  they  came  to  the  first  village  of  the  Essanapes, 
where  their  arrival  was  expected,  and  measures  had  been  taken  to  re 
ceive  them  in  grand  style  of  savage  hospitality.  About  five  hundred 
men  received  them  on  landing  with  dancing,  loud  cries,  and  frequent 
prostrations,  similar  to  adoration.  The  strangers  were  then  taken  to 
the  village  by  the  Indians,  where  they  were  received  by  a  deputation  of 
the  regency  of  the  place,  consisting  of  six  hundred  men,  each  holding 

1  This  river  (Ouisconsin)  is  cursed  and  shameful,  (maudite,  et  abandonnee).  Its 
•waters  revolve  a  filthy  and  villanous  slimy  mud  :  on  both  sides  of  its  channel  wo 
see  only  steep  hills,  frightful  rocks,  or  barren  marshes. — Vol.  i.  192. 


324  NOTES   TO  CHAPTER  II. 

a  bow  in  one  hand,  and  an  arrow  in  the  other.     Somewhat  alarmed  at 
this  hostile  appearance,  the  Outagamies  told  the  Essanapes  to  throw 
aside  their  arms,  and  La  Hontan  and  his  party  commenced  retiring  to 
the  river,  until  this  demand  was  complied  with,  when  they  all  entered 
the  village  triumphantly.     Leaving  this  place  and  passing  many  other 
villages,  after  a  voyage  of  eighteen  days,  and  being  accompanied  by 
crowds   of  Indians  on  the  banks,  they  arrived  at  the  principal  village, 
situated  on  a  kind  of  lake,  at  a  distance  of  fifty  leagues  from  the  first 
one.     Here  dwelt  the  great  chief,  who  received  him  kindly  and  with 
great  attention.     This  chief  offered  him  an  escort  of  three  hundred  men 
to  conduct  him  to  the  Gnacsitares,  and  told  him  they  were  a  good  na 
tion,  allied  to  the  Essanapes,  but  were  obliged  to  inhabit  islands  to  be 
in  greater  safety  from  the  Mozemleeks,  their  common  enemies.     Having 
obtained  four  pirogues  from  this  chief,  and  astonished  the  natives  by 
exhibiting  the  use  of  the  gun,  and  the  hatchet,  he  left  his  canoes  and 
embarked  in  his  pirogues,  on  the  4th  of  December,  having  on  board  his 
own  pirogue  no  less  than  ten  soldiers,  ten  Miamis,  four  Ottawas,  and 
four  Essanapes  slaves,  who  were  ordered  by  the  great  chief  to  accom 
pany  him.     Passing  many  islands  in  the  lake,  after  fifteen  days  of  navi 
gation,  they  landed,  and  the  four  Essanapes  slaves  were  despatched  to 
gain  information  of  the  inhabitants.     They  returned  in  a  few  hours,  and 
stated  that  they  had  run  a  great  risk  of  their  lives,  as  the  Gnacsitares 
had  taken  their  new  visitors  to  be  Spaniards,  whose  name  was  in  bad 
odour  among  them,  on  account  of  their  cruelties  in  the  new  world.     La 
Hontan  and  his  companions  encamped  on  an  island  in  the  lake,  and  the 
Gnacsitares  sent  couriers  off,  twenty-four  leagues  to  the  south,  for  some 
savages  whose  commerce  with  New  Mexico  would  enable  them  to  deter 
mine  whether  or  not  the  new  visitants  were  Spaniards.     The  arbitrating 
deputies  having  arrived  in  great  numbers,  they  crossed  over  to  the  isle 
where  the  new-comers  were  encamped,  and  after  having  examined  them 
from  head  to  foot  with  great  circumspection,  and  having  taken  into  con 
sideration  their  clothing,  their  guns,  their  swords,  their  air,  their  com 
plexion,  their  tone  of  voice  and  accent,  these  judges  pronounced  that 
the  visitors  were  not  Spaniards.     This  verdict  having  been  confirmed  by 
the  declarations  of  La  Hontan,  the  Gnacsitares  invited  him  to  encamp 
on  the  great  isle,  and  sent  him  a  supply  of  provision.     Two  days  after 
ward,  on  the  19th  of  January,  the  great  chief  paid  him  a  visit,  accom 
panied  by  four  hundred  men.     La  Hontan  perceived  among  the  attend 
ants  four  men  who  appeared  to  be  Spaniards  from  their  clothing,  their 
beards,  the  manner  of  wearing  their  hair,  their  complexion,  and  their 
polished  manners.     On  inquiry  they  were  found  to  be  Mozemleeks,  who 
dwell  along  a  river  which  has  its  source  in  a  chain  of  mountains,  in 


NOTE  B.— VALLEY  OF  THE  MISSISSIPPI.  325 

which  also  the  Long  Kiver  has  its  source.  The  country  of  this  nation 
is  adjoining  that  of  the  Gnacsitares,  •which  causes  continual  war  between, 
them.  The  mountains  which  separate  them  are  five  or  six  leagues  in 
breadth,  and  high  in  proportion ;  so  rugged  and  steep  as  not  to  be 
crossed  except  by  long  and  winding  paths,  and  inhabited  only  by  bears 
and  other  ferocious  beasts.  From  these  Mozemleek  slaves  La  Hontan 
learned  that  at  a  distance  of  one  hundred  and  fifty  leagues  from  where 
they  then  were,  the  Great  River  discharges  itself  by  a  mouth  two  leagues 
wide,  into  a  vast  lake  of  salt  water,  which  is  three  hundred  leagues  in 
circumference. 

Toward  the  termination  of  this  river  are  built  six  fine  towns,  the  walls 
of  which  are  of  stone,  cemented  with  potter's  clay.  Around  the  lake  are 
more  than  a  hundred  other  villages  great  and  small,  which  suffices  to 
show  the  power  and  grandeur  of  this  nation.  The  great  salt  lake  is  the 
field  of  their  commerce ;  they  cultivate  the  arts,  and  the  mechanics  flou 
rish  among  them  as  with  us.  They  fabricate  stuffs,  copper  hatchets,  and 
a  multitude  of  other  works.  The  government  is  monarchical,  and  the 
great  chief  is  absolute  in  power.  This  nation,  La  Hontan  was  informed, 
was  not  Mozemleek,  but  was  called  Ta-hug-lauk.  The  Mozemleek  slaves 
showed  him  a  large  copper  medal  engraved  on  the  one  side  with  charac 
ters,  and  on  the  other  with  four  animals  resembling  bears  in  couples, 
and  other  devices.  This  medal  was  manufactured  by  the  Ta-hug-lauks. 
La  Hontan,  being  unable  to  visit  these  people,  endeavoured  to  learn  more 
of  them  from  the  four  Mozemleek  slaves,  but  his  interpreters  were  very 
ignorant,  and  he  was  obliged  to  relinquish  his  inquiries.  All  he  could 
learn  was,  that  the  Ta-hug-lauks  were  as  numerous  as  the  leaves  on  the 
trees.  The  Mozemleeks  took  to  their  villages  wild  calves  of  the  buffalo, 
captured  among  the  mountains,  which  the  Ta-hug-lauks  used  partly  for 
food,  some  for  drawing  in  wheeled  carriages,  and  their  skins  for  clothing 
and  shoes.  This  people  wear  the  beard  two  fingers  in  length ;  their  habit 
is  a  tunic  descending  to  the  knees ;  they  wear  a  high  pyramidal-shaped 
bonnet ;  they  have  buskins  which  cover  the  whole  leg,  and  they  are  always 
armed  with  a  long  club,  ironed  at  the  end,  like  those  of  our  peasants  and 
foot  travellers.  Their  women  are  secluded  from  sight,  as  in  Italy  and 
Spain.  The  nation  is  fond  of  war,  but  in  seeking  their  enemies  at  a 
great  distance,  if  they  meet  on  the  road  any  wandering  tribes  inferior  to 
themselves,  they  believe  it  a  crime  to  attack  them.  The  river  of  the  Mo 
zemleeks  and  the  Ta-hug-lauks  runs  always  toward  the  west,  and  the 
salt  water  lake  into  which  it  discharges  itself,  and  which  is  three  hun 
dred  leagues  in  circuit,  is  thirty  leagues  in  width,  its  mouth  being  very 
far  to  the  south. 

Having  taken  formal  leave  of  the  great  chief  of  the  Gnacsitares,  La 


326  NOTES  TO  CHAPTER  II. 

Hontan  descended  the  Long  River :  the  Indians  had  made  a  map  of  the 
whole  country  for  him,  embracing  all  the  rivers  from  Lake  Superior  to 
Tahuglauk.  lie  conjectured  the  Long  River  to  be  at  least  two  thousand 
miles  in  length,  and  at  its  head  to  communicate  with  a  second  great  river 
•which  discharged  itself  into  the  South  Sea ;  and  thus  the  much-desired 
passage  to  China  was  a  problem  solved  and  a  discovery  achieved.  On  the 
12th  of  March,  La  Hontan  re-entered  the  Mississippi,  descended  it,  and 
afterward  arrived  at  Fort  Crevecoeur  on  the  Illinois,  where  he  found 
Tonti  in  command  of  the  garrison  left  there  by  De  la  Salle. 


NOTE  C.     Page  63. 

It  is  necessary  to  remark,  that  in  the  early  relations  respecting  the 
Trench  settlements  in  the  Mississippi  Valley,  two  Kaskaskias  are  men 
tioned.  After  the  return  of  Father  Marquette  from  his  exploring  voyage, 
he  was  detained  at  the  mission  of  St.  Francis  Xavier,  in  Green  Bay, 
during  the  whole  summer  of  1674.  On  his  homeward  journey  he  had 
promised  the  Illinois,  called  Kaskaskias,  to  return  among  them  as  their 
religious  teacher,  but  the  hardships  of  his  first  voyage  had  greatly  enfee 
bled  him,  and  he  had  almost  lost  the  hope  of  fulfilling  this  great  design 
of  his  heart.  His  malady  having  given  way,  he  obtained  permission  of 
his  superiors  to  return  to  the  Illinois  to  found  his  projected  mission,  and 
on  the  25th  of  October,  1674,  he  set  out  with  two  men,  named  Pierre  Por- 

teret  and  Jacques .     They  crossed  the  peninsula  which  forms  the 

eastern  side  of  Green  Bay,  and  began  to  coast  along  the  shore  of  Lake 
Michigan,  accompanied  by  some  Illinois  and  Pottawatamies.  They  ad 
vanced  slowly  ;  the  good  missionary  was  again  seized  with  his  malady, 
the  dysentery,  but  he  pushed  on,  and  on  the  4th  of  December  had  reached 
the  Chicago,  which  connects  by  portage  with  the  Illinois.  The  river  was 
frozen,  and  the  pious  missionary  resolved  to  winter  at  the  portage,  as  his 
illness  increased  ;  he  was  deprived  even  of  the  consolation  of  saying 
mass  on  his  patronal  feast,  the  Immaculate  Conception.  His  Indian  com 
panions  now  left  him,  and,  though  aided  by  some  French  traders,  he 
suffered  much  during  the  following  months.  Of  this  however  he  says 
nothing.  "  The  blessed  Virgin  immaculate,"  says  his  journal,  "  has  taken 
such  care  of  us  during  our  wandering,  that  we  have  never  wanted  food ; 
we  have  lived  very  comfortably — my  illness  not  having  prevented  my 
saying  mass  every  day."  How  little  can  we  realize  the  faith  and  self- 
denial  which  could  give  so  pleasant  a  face  to  a  winter  passed  by  a  dying 
man  in  a  cabin  open  to  the  winds ! 

Despairing  at  last  of  human  remedies,  the  missionary  and  his  two  pious 


NOTE  C.— VALLEY  OF  THE   MISSISSIPPI.  327 

companions  began  a  novena,  or  nine  days  devotion  to  the  blessed  Virgin 
immaculate.  From  its  close  he  began  to  gain  strength,  and  on  the  29th 
of  March,  the  river  being  open,  he  set  out  on  his  long  interrupted  jour 
ney  ;  his  last  entry  on  his  journal  is  on  the  6th  of  April,  when  the  wind 
and  cold  compelled  them  to  halt :  he  never  found  time  to  continue  his 
journal,  and  his  last  words  are  a  playful  allusion  to  the  hardships  under 
gone  by  the  traders,  in  which  he  sympathized,  while  insensible  of  his  own.1 

Having  reached  the  town  of  Kach-kach-kia  on  the  8th  of  April,  he 
was  received  there  as  an  angel  from  heaven,  by  the  chiefs,  the  old  men, 
and  the  whole  people.  A  beautiful  prairie  near  the  town  was  chosen  for 
the  great  council ;  it  was  spread  with  mats  and  bear-skins,  and  the  re- 
Terend  Father  having  hung  on  cords  some  pieces  of  Indian  taffety,  attached 
to  them  four  large  pictures  of  the  blessed  Virgin,  which  were  thus  visible 
on  all  sides.  The  auditory  was  composed  of  five  hundred  chiefs  and  old 
men,  seated  in  a  circle  around  the  Father,  while  the  youth  stood  without, 
to  the  number  of  fifteen  hundred,  not  counting  women  and  children,  who 
•were  very  numerous,  the  town  being  composed  of  five  or  six  hundred 
fires.2  The  father  explained  to  the  multitude  the  mysteries  of  our  reli 
gion  ;  he  preached  to  them  Christ  crucified,  for  it  was  the  very  eve  of  the 
great  day  on  which  he  died  on  the  cross  for  them,  as  well  as  for  the  rest 
of  men ;  he  then  said  mass. 

Three  days  after,  on  Easter  Sunday,  things  being  arranged  in  the  same 
manner  as  on  Thursday,  he  celebrated  the  holy  mysteries  for  the  second 
time,  and  by  these  two  sacrifices,  the  first  ever  offered  there  to  God,  he 
took  possession  of  that  land  in  the  name  of  Jesus  Christ,  and  gave  this 
mission  the  name  of  "  the  Immaculate  Conception  of  the  Blessed  Virgin." 
In  a  few  days  Marquette  left  this  people,  much  to  their  regret,  and  died 
on  his  return  voyage,  on  the  east  shore  of  Lake  Michigan,  where  he  was 
buried  by  his  two  sorrowing  companions,  who  had  thus  far  accompanied 
liim,  from  the  time  of  his  departure  from  Green  Bay.  The  Indian  name 
of  the  river,  at  the  mouth  of  which  he  died  and  was  buried,  according 
to  some  is  Notispescago,  and  to  others  is  Aniniondibeganining.  It  is  a 
very  small  stream,  being  the  outlet  of  a  small  lake,  and  has  since  been, 
called  Marquette  River.3 

In  April,  1677,  Father  Allouez  visited  the  large  Illinois  town  of  Kach- 
kach-kia,  and  found  it  composed  of  three  hundred  and  fifty-one  cabins, 
easily  counted,  he  says,  for  they  are  mostly  ranged  on  the  banks  of  the 
river.  He  fixes  the  latitude  of  the  location  at  40°  42',  and  this  is  in 
correspondence  with  its  designation  on  the  Illinois  River,  on  the  auto 
graph  map  of  Marquette,  first  published  by  Mr.  Shea  in  1852.  This 

1  Shea,  Discov.  and  Expl.  (in  note.)  p.  53.        2  Idem.  p.  55.         3  Idem.  p.  59. 


328  NOTES  TO  CHAPTER  II. 

would  bring  it  near  Rock  Fort,  making  allowance  for  the  old  latitude. 
The  Kaskaskia  of  which  later  writers  speak,  is  the  Kaskaskia  of  our  own 
day,  and  is  situate  in  latitude  38°. 

Bancroft  writes,  "  The  oldest  permanent  European  settlement  in  the 
valley  of  the  Mississippi,  is  the  village  of  the  Immaculate  Conception  of 
the  Holy  Virgin,  or  Kaskaskia,  the  seat  of  a  Jesuit  mission,  which  gra 
dually  became  a  central  point  of  French  colonization.  We  know  that 
Father  Gravier  was  its  founder,  but  it  is  not  easy  to  fix  the  date  of  its 
origin."  Marquette  had  been  followed  by  Allouez,  who  in  1684  may  have 
teen  at  Rock  Fort,  but  who  was  chiefly  a  missionary  to  the  Miamis,  among 
•whom  he  died.  Gravier  followed  Allouez,  but  in  what  year  is  unknown. 
Sebastian  Rasles,  after  a  short  residence  among  the  Abenakis,  received 
orders  to  visit  the  west,  and  from  his  own  narrative  it  is  plain  that  after 
passing  a  winter  at  Mackinaw,  he,  in  the  spring  of  1693,  repaired  to 
Illinois,  where  he  remained  two  years.  When  the  founder  of  Kaskaskia 
was  recalled  to  Mackinaw,  he  was  relieved  by  two  missionaries,  Pinet, 
who  became  the  founder  of  Cahokia,  and  Binnetau,  who  left  his  mission 
among  the  Abenakis,  to  die  on  the  upland  plains  of  the  Mississippi.  Be 
fore  his  death,  Gabriel  Marest,  the  Jesuit,  joined  the  mission  at  Kaskas 
kia,  and  for  a  season,  after  the  death  of  Binnetau  and  Pinet,  had  the  sole 
charge  of  it.  Very  early  in  the  eighteenth  century  he  was  joined  by  Mer- 
met,  who,  with  the  commandant  Juchereau  from  Canada,  had  collected 
a  village  of  Indians  and  Canadians,  and  thus  founded  the  first  French 
post  on  the  Ohio,  or  as  the  lower  part  of  the  river  was  then  called,  the 
Wabash.1  The  gentle  virtues  and  fervid  eloquence  of  Mermet  made  him 
the  soul  of  the  mission  at  Kaskaskias. 

The  object  of  this  note  is  to  show  that  there  has  been  an  apparent 
confusion  of  accounts  as  given  of  Kaskaskia :  it  is  evident  that  the  Kas 
kaskia  visited  and  written  of  by  Marquette  and  Allouez,  and  dedicated  by 
the  former  to  the  Immaculate  Conception  of  the  Holy  Virgin,  is  not  the 
Kaskaskia  of  Southern  Illinois,  founded  by  Gravier  and  dedicated  in  the 
same  manner  :  the  lately  discovered  manuscript  and  map  of  Father  Mar 
quette  have  shed  light  on  this  subject.  But  perhaps  this  extended  note 
may  not  be  considered  as  yielding  information  worth  the  research,  as 
the  whole  country  south  of  the  Illinois  River  to  the  Mississippi,  and  mouth 
of  the  Ohio,  may  have  been  considered  in  early  days  as  embraced  in  the 
Kaskaskia  mission. 

JSee  Bancroft,  vol.  3,  p.  195. 


NOTE  D.— LETTERS-PATENT  TO  M.  CROZAT.     329 


NOTE  D.     Page  74. 

THE  LETTERS-PATENT  GRANTED  BY  THE  KING  OF  FRANCE 
TO  M.  CROZAT. 

Louis,  by  the  grace  of  God,  King  of  France  and  Navarre :  To  all  who 
shall  see  these  present  letters,  Greeting.  The  care  we  have  always  had 
to  procure  the  welfare  and  advantage  of  our  subjects  having  induced  us, 
notwithstanding  the  almost  continual  wars  which  we  have  been  obliged 
to  support  from  the  beginning  of  our  reign,  to  seek  for  all  possible  op 
portunities  of  enlarging  and  extending  the  trade  of  our  American  colo 
nies,  we  did,  in  the  year  1G83,  give  our  orders  to  undertake  a  discovery 
of  the  countries  and  lands  which  are  situated  in  the  northern  part  of 
America,  between  New  France  and  New  Mexico :  and  the  Sieur  de  la 
Salle,  to  whom  we  committed  that  enterprise,  having  had  success  enough 
to  confirm  a  belief  that  a  communication  might  be  settled  from  NEW 
PRANCE  TO  THE  GULF  or  MEXICO  BY  MEANS  OF  LARGE  RIVERS  ;  this  obliged 
us  immediately  after  the  peace  of  Ryswick  to  give  orders  for  the  esta 
blishing  a  colony  there,  and  maintaining  a  garrison  which  has  kept  and 
preserved  the  POSSESSION  we  had  taken  in  the  very  year  1G83,  of  the  lands, 
coasts,  and  islands  which  are  situated  in  the  Gulf  of  Mexico,  between 
Carolina  on  the  east,  and  Old  and  New  Mexico  on  the  west.  But  a  new 
war  having  broken  out  in  Europe  shortly  after,  there  was  no  possibility 
till  now  of  reaping  from  that  colony  the  advantages  that  might  have 
"been  expected  from  thence,  because  the  private  men  who  are  concerned 
in  the  sea  trade  were  all  under  engagements  with  other  colonies,  which 
they  have  been  obliged  to  follow :  and  whereas,  upon  the  information  we 
have  received  concerning  the  disposition  and  situation  of  the  said  coun 
tries  known  at  present  by  the  name  of  the  Province  LA  LOUISIANA,  we 
are  of  opinion  that  there  maybe  established  therein  a  considerable  com~ 
merce,  so  much  the  more  advantageous  to  our  kingdom,  in  that  there  has 
hitherto  been  a  necessity  of  fetching  from  foreigners  the  greatest  part 
of  the  commodities  which  may  be  brought  from  thence,  and  because  in 
exchange  thereof  we  need  carry  thither  nothing  but  commodities  of  the 
growth  and  manufacture  of  our  own  kingdom  ;  we  have  resolved  to  grant 
the  commerce  of  the  country  of  Louisiana  to  the  Sieur  Anthony  Crozat, 
our  councillor,  secretary  of  the  household,  crown,  and  revenue,  to  whom 
we  intrust  the  execution  of  this  project.  We  are  the  more  readily  in 
clined  hereunto,  because  his  zeal  and  the  singular  knowledge  he  has  ac 
quired  in  maritime  commerce,  encourage  us  to  hope  for  as  good  success 
as  he  has  hitherto  had  in  the  divers  and  sundry  enterprises  he  has  gone 
upon,  and  which  have  procured,  to  our  kingdom  great  quantities  of  gold 


330  NOTES  TO  CHAPTER  II. 

and  silver  in  such  conjunctures  as  have  rendered  them  very  welcome 
to  us. 

r  For  these  reasons  being  desirous  to  show  our  favour  to  him,  and  to 
regulate  the  conditions  upon  which  we  mean  to  grant  him  the  said  com 
merce,  after  having  deliberated  this  affair  in  our  council,  of  our  certain 
knowledge,  full  power,  and  royal  authority,  "We  by  these  presents  signed 
by  our  hand,  have  appointed  and  do  appoint  the  said  Sieur  Crozat  solely 
to  carry  on  a  trade  in  all  the  lands  possessed  by  us,  and  bounded  by  New 
Mexico,  and  by  the  lands  of  the  English  of  Carolina ;  all  the  establish 
ments,  ports,  havens,  rivers,  and  principally  the  port  and  haven  of  the 
Isle  Dauphine,  hertofore  called  Massacre ;  the  river  of  St.  Lewis,  here 
tofore  called  Missisipi,  from  the  edge  of  the  sea  as  far  as  the  Islinois ; 
together  with  the  river  of  St.  Philip,  heretofore  called  the  Missourys,  and 
of  St.  Jerome,  heretofore  called  Ouabache,  with  all  the  countries,  terri 
tories,  lakes  within  land,  and  the  rivers  which  fall  directly  or  indirectly 
into  that  part  of  the  river  of  St.  Lewis. 

The  Articles. 

I.  Our  pleasure  is,  that  all  the  aforesaid  lands,  countries,  streams,  rivers, 
and  islands,  be  and  remain  comprised  under  the  name  of  the  Government 
of  Louisiana,  which  shall  be  dependent  upon  the  General  Government 
of  New  France,  to  which  it  is  subordinate  ;  and  further,  that  all  the  lands 
which  we  possess  from  the  Illinois  be  united,  ^o  far  as  occasion  requires, 
to  the  General  Government  of  New  France,  and  become  part  thereof, 
reserving  however  to  ourselves  the  liberty  of  enlarging  as  we  shall  think 
fit,  the  extent  of  the  government  of  the  said  country  of  Louisiana. 

II.  Grants  to  Crozat  the  exclusive  trade  of  the  whole  country  for  the 
term  of  fifteen  years. 

III.  Allows  Crozat  to  search  for,  open,  and  dig  all  sorts  of  mines,  veins, 
and  minerals,  throughout  the  whole  extent  of  the  said  country  of  Louisi 
ana  ;  and  to  transport  the  profits  thereof  into  any  port  in  France  during 
the  said  fifteen  years.     Also  grants  in  perpetuity  to  him  and  his  heirs, 
the  property  of,  in,  and  to  the  mines,  veins,  and  minerals  which  ho  shall 
bring  to  bear,  paying  us,  in  lieu  of  all  claim,  the  fifth  part  of  the  gold 
and  silver,  and  the  tenth  part  of  what  effects  he  shall  draw  from  the 
other  mines,  veins,  and  minerals ;  the  said  dues  to  be  transported  to 
France  at  the  expense  of  Crozat.    Also  permission  to  search  for  precious 
stones  and  pearls,  paying  the  fifth  part  as  dues  ;  and  if  Crozat,  his  heirs, 
or  those  claiming  under  him  or  them  the  perpetual  right,  shall  discon 
tinue  the  work  during  three  years,  the  propriety  of  the  mines,  veins,  and 
minerals  shall  be  forfeited,  and  the  same  shall  be  fully  reunited  to  the 
royal  domain. 


NOTE  E.— LAW'S  MISSISSIPPI  SCHEME. 

The  remaining  articles  grant  and  prescribe  privileges  of  buying,  sell 
ing,  manufacturing,  and  transporting  all  commodities  and  effects  of  the 
«aid  country  ;  also  the  property  in  and  to  all  settlements  and  manufacto 
ries,  mansions,  mills,  and  structures,  and  the  lands  which  he  shall  cause 
to  be  cultivated,  is  secured  to  Crozat  and  his  heirs,  and  those  claiming 
tinder  him  or  them  ;  and  all  his  commerce  from  and  to  the  mother  coun 
try  to  be  free  of  imposts  and  duties. 

Article  XIV.  is  as  follows: — If  for  the  cultures  and  plantations 
•which  the  said  Sieur  Crozat  is  minded  to  make,  he  finds  it  proper  to  have 
"blacks  in  the  said  country  of  the  Louisiana,  he  may  send  a  ship  every 
year  to  trade  for  them  directly  upon  the  coast  of  Guinea,  taking  permis 
sion  from  the  Guinea  company  so  to  do  ;  he  may  sell  those  blacks  to  the 
inhabitants  of  the  colony  of  Louisiana ;  and  we  forbid  all  other  compa 
nies  and  persons  whatsoever,  under  any  pretence  whatsoever,  to  introduce 
blacks  or  traffic  for  them,  in  the  said  country,  nor  shall  the  said  Sieur 
Crozat  carry  any  blacks  elsewhere. 

Given  at  Fontainbleau,  the  fourteenth  day  of  September,  in  the  year 
of  Grace  1712,  and  of  our  reign  the  70th. 

Signed,        Louis. 
By  the  King — PHILIPEAUX,  &c. 

Registered  at  Paris  in  the  Parliament,  the  four-and-twentieth  of  Sep 
tember,  1712. 


NOTE  E.     Page  82. 

The  relations  which  existed  between  the  supposed  wealth  of  the  Val 
ley  of  the  Mississippi  in  its  mines,  precious  stones,  agricultural  value, 
and  projected  commerce,  and  the  wild  infatuation  which  attended  the 
grant  of  monopoly  to  the  Western  Company,  the  establishment  of  the 
Bank  of  France,  and  the  union  of  both,  under  the  auspices  of  John  Law, 
may  excuse  the  length  of  this  note. 

The  speculative  mania  of  the  "  Mississippi  Scheme"  was  at  its  great 
height  at  the  end  of  the  year  1719,  and  beginning  of  the  year  1720. 
Such  was  the  confidence  entertained  in  the  system  of  Law,  and  such  was 
the  avidity  for  wealth,  that  the  shares  of  the  Company  of  the  Indies 
rose  with  unexampled  rapidity,  every  one  taking  it  for  granted  that  the 
speediest  way  to  realize  a  prodigious  fortune  was  to  become  a  share 
holder  to  as  large  an  amount  as  possible  in  the  India  Company.  The 
frenzy  extended  to  all  ranks  and  classes.  "  Clergy  and  laity,  peers  and 
plebeians,  statesmen,  princes,  nay  even  ladies  who  had,  or  could  procure 


332  NOTES   TO   CHAPTER  II. 

money  for  that  purpose,  turned  stock-jobbers,  out-bidding  each  other." 
The  shares  soon  rose  to  5000  livres  each.  Prudent  shareholders  now 
"began  to  sell  out,  and  with  the  enormous  fortunes  which  they  had 
realized,  to  purchase  houses  and  estates.  The  sight  of  opulence  thus 
rapidly  acquired,  increased  the  popular  delirium,  each  man  saying, 
"  Why  may  not  I  realize  a  fortune,  and  purchase  houses  and  estates 
too?"  The  state  creditors,  likewise  being  paid  in  bank  notes,  such  a 
quantity  of  paper  was  thrown  into  circulation,  that  it  could  be  disposed 
of  in  no  other  way  than  by  the  purchase  of  East  India  stock ;  and  the 
competition  of  these  purchasers  against  each  other  increased  the  price 
of  shares  still  more  rapidly.  In  November,  1719,  they  were  sold  at 
10,000  livres  each,  or  at  twenty  times  their  original  price. 

Innumerable  anecdotes  are  told  illustrative  of  the  eagerness  of  all 
classes  to  become  shareholders  in  the  company,  of  the  intense  anxiety 
which  prevailed,  arising  from  every  fluctuation  in  the  value  of  shares, 
and  of  the  strange  vicissitudes  of  fortune  which  were  brought  about 
during  the  frenzy.  The  street  (in  Paris)  in  which  the  stock-jobbers  met, 
at  first  was  the  Rue  do  Quinquempoix ;  and  the  crowds  which  used  daily 
to  assemble  there  were  so  great,  that  accidents  were  constantly  occur 
ring.  The  occupiers  of  this  street  reaped  a  golden  harvest  from  the 
general  excitement  by  letting  their  houses  to  the  speculators.  Houses 
whose  rent  was  800  livres  a  year,  were  let  at  GOOO  or  10,000  livres  a 
month ;  and  even  single  apartments  were  let  for  a  pistole  a  day.  A 
cobbler  earned  200  livres  a  day,  by  allowing  ladies  and  gentlemen  to  sit 
in  his  stall,  furnishing  them  with  chairs  and  writing  materials  ;  nay,  one 
liump-backcd  man  is  mentioned  as  having  acquired  a  fortune  of  150,000 
livres  by  allowing  the  jobbers  in  the  street  to  use  his  hump  as  a  writing- 
desk.  M.  Chirac,  physician  to  the  Duke  of  Orleans,  was  on  his  way  to 
Tisit  a  lady,  one  of  his  patients,  when  he  was  informed  that  the  price  of 
shares  was  falling.  His  mind  was  so  engrossed  with  the  news,  that 
while  feeling  the  lady's  pulse,  he  exclaimed  in  agony,  "  Oh  it  falls,  it 
falls  continually  I"  and  the  lady,  alarmed,  began  to  shriek,  till  he  reas 
sured  her  by  telling  her  it  was  the  Mississippi  shares,  and  not  her  pulse,  he 
referred  to.  No  one  was  able  to  withstand  the  infatuation.  Two  of  the 
ablest  scholars  and  most  learned  men  in  France,  the  Abbe  Tenasson  and 
M.  de  la  Mothe,  were  lamenting  together  the  madness  of  the  nation,  and 
congratulating  themselves  on  the  fact,  that  being  scholars,  they  had 
escaped  the  contagion.  A  few  days  after,  the  Abbe,  pushing  through 
the  crowd  at  the  Rue  de  Quinquempoix,  met  M.  de  la  Mothe  pushing 
through  it  also — both  having  come  to  bargain  in  the  stocks.  In  the 
whole  court,  only  five  persons  refrained  from  speculation,  and  those  who 
did  so  were  regarded  as  cowards,  or  fools. 


NOTE  E.— LAW'S  MISSISSIPPI  SCHEME.  333 

The  Rue  de  Quinquempoix  being  found  too  narrow  for  the  immense 
crowds  who  congregated  daily  for  the  purpose  of  speculating  in  the  In 
dia  stock,  the  traffic  was  transferred  to  the  Place  Vendome.  In  a  short 
time,  however,  this  open  space  was  also  found  inconvenient ;  and  Law, 
at  an  enormous  price,  purchased  the  Hotel  de  Soissons,  in  whose  gardens 
pavilions  were  erected  for  the  accommodation  of  the  public.  Here  the 
business  was  daily  carried  on. 

Mr.  Law,  as  the  author  and  dispenser  of  all  the  wealth  for  which  the 
nation  was  struggling,  became  beyond  comparison  the  principal  person 
age  in  the  kingdom.  The  levee  of  the  regent  was  forsaken ;  and  princes, 
dukes,  peers,  bishops,  and  judges  crowded  in  the  retinue  of  the  Scottish 
projector.  His  ante-chambers  were  constantly  full  of  ladies,  waiting  for 
an  interview,  that  they  might  prevail  on  Mr.  Law  to  sell  them  a  portion 
of  stock.  Troubled  by  such  numbers  of  applicants,  Law  conducted 
himself  with  the  utmost  haughtiness,  and  would  keep  a  peer  of  the 
realm  waiting  five  or  six  hours  before  admitting  him  to  an  interview. 
Enormous  bribes  were  given  to  his  servants,  on  condition  merely  that 
they  should  announce  the  name  of  the  person  waiting.  It  was  to  the 
French  aristocracy  that  Mr.  Law  behaved  in  this  haughty  way ;  to  his 
own  countrymen,  and  to  persons  coming  on  ordinary  errands,  he  appears 
to  have  been  exceedingly  affable.  "  The  Earl  of  Hay,  afterward  Duke 
of  Argyle,  going  to  wait  upon  Mr.  Law,  by  appointment,  found  the  ante 
chambers  filled  with  many  of  the  highest  quality  in  France ;  but  being, 
by  special  orders,  admitted  into  his  private  apartments,  beheld  the  great 
man  writing  what  from  the  number  and  rank  of  those  left  to  wait  his 
leisure,  he  naturally  concluded  to  be  despatches  of  the  utmost  conse 
quence.  Upon  mentioning  these  surmises  to  his  old  friend,  it  was  with 
no  small  surprise  his  lordship  learned  that  he  was  only  writing  to  his 
gardener  at  Lauriston  (Scotland)  to  plant  cabbages  in  a  particular  spot. 
After  this  important  epistle  was  concluded,  he  desired  the  earl  to  play 
a  game  at  piquet,  at  which  they  continued  for  a  good  while,  till  at  length 
the  great  man  thought  proper  to  give  orders  for  the  admission  of  his 
humble  supplicants/'  Many  amusing  anecdotes  are  told  of  the  strata 
gems  fallen  upon  by  the  ladies  to  procure  an  interview  with  Mr.  Law. 
A  Madame  de  Boucher  being  extremely  anxious  to  possess  some  India 
stock,  made  every  effort  to  procure  an  invitation  to  meet  Mr.  Law  at 
dinner  at  the  house  of  Madame  de  Simiani,  where  she  knew  he  was  to 
be  present ;  but  as  it  was  known  that  Mr.  Law  did  not  wish  to  see  her, 
Madame  de  Simiani  could  not  comply  with  her  friend's  request.  Re 
solved,  nevertheless,  to  gain  her  point,  the  lady  ordered- her  carriage  to 
be  driven  past  the  house  ;  and  when  exactly  opposite  to  it,  she  gave  the 
alarm  of  fire !  The  guests,  Mr.  Law  included,  rushed  into  the  street. 


334  NOTES   TO   CHAPTER  II. 

The  lady  jumped  out  of  her  carriage,  and  was  hurrying  up  to  him;  but 
perceiving  her  design,  he  took  to  his  heels  and  escaped.  Another  lady 
gave  orders  to  her  coachman  to  be  on  the  watch  for  Mr.  Law  in  the 
streets,  and  the  moment  he  saw  him  close  at  hand,  to  overturn  the  car 
riage.  It  was  several  days  before  the  longed-for  opportunity  arrived ; 
and  then,  the  lady  being  the  first  to  perceive  the  approach  of  the  great 
man,  called  out  to  the  coachman,  "Upset  me  now,  you  rascal! — upset 
me  now  I"  The  man  did  as  he  was  ordered  ;  Law  flew  to  the  lady's  re 
lief,  and  had  her  conveyed  into  the  Hotel  de  Soissons.  Here  the  lady 
confessed  her  trick ;  and  Law,  as  a  reward  for  her  ingenuity,  was  obliged 
to  enter  her  name  as  a  purchaser  of  stock. 

So  sudden  and  rapid  was  the  rise  of  the  price  of  shares,  that  enor 
mous  fortunes  were  made  in  the  course  of  a  few  days.  Many  instances 
are  recorded  of  persons  in  the  lowest  ranks  of  life  suddenly  realizing 
immense  wealth.  One  night  at  the  Opera,  all  eyes  were  attracted  by  a 
lady  in  a  magnificent  dress,  sitting  in  a  very  conspicuous  position ;  and 
no  one  could  make  out  who  she  was,  till  a  young  lady  whispered  to  her 
mother,  "Why,  it  is  our  cook,  Mary!'7  And  it  proved  to  be  so;  Mary 
had  been  speculating,  and  become  rich.  A  footman  had  speculated  so 
successfully,  as  to  be  able  to  set  up  a  carriage  of  his  own ;  but  when  en 
tering  it  for  the  first  time,  the  force  of  habit  was  so  strong,  that  he 
mounted  into  his  accustomed  place  behind — excusing  himself  as  he 
jumped  to  the  ground  again,  by  saying,  he  was  trying  how  many  lack 
eys  would  have  room  to  stand  on  the  board.  Mr.  Law's  coachman  had 
made  such  a  fortune,  that  he  asked  his  discharge,  which  Mr.  Law  gave 
him,  on  condition  that  before  going,  he  should  supply  him  with  another 
coachman  as  good  as  himself.  The  man  brought  two  coachmen  next 
day,  recommended  both  as  excellent  drivers,  and  asked  his  master  to 
choose  one,  as  he  meant  to  engage  the  other  himself.  Another  specula 
tor,  finding  himself  a  rich  man,  gave  orders  to  a  coachmaker  for  a  mag 
nificent  new  Berlin,  leaving  4000  livres  as  a  deposit.  The  coachmaker 
inquiring  what  arms  were  to  be  put  on  the  carriage,  "  Oh,  the  finest — 
the  finest  by  all  means  !"  said  the  fortunate  man.  One  Brignaud,  a  ba 
ker's  son,  having  acquired  an  enormous  fortune,  and  wishing  to  have  a 
superb  service  of  plate,  went  into  a  goldsmith's  shop,  and  purchased  the 
whole  collection  of  articles  exposed  for  sale,  at  400,000  livres. 

Up  to  this  time,  Law's  system  had  produced  nothing  but  the  most 
wonderful  outward  prosperity  ;  and  when  the  state  of  the  nation  was 
compared  with  what  it  had  been  at  the  death  of  Louis  XIV.,  it  appeared 
that  the  man  to  whose  exertions  the  change  was  owing,  could  be  nothing 
less  than  a  demi-god.  Money  circulated  in  profusion,  people  in  the  lowest 
ranks  indulged  in  luxuries  previously  unattainable,  and  the  price  of  com- 


NOTE  E.— LAW'S   MISSISSIPPI   SCHEME.  335 

modities  rose  without  any  injury  to  the  people.  The  ell  of  cloth  which 
had  sold  for  fifteen  livres,  now  sold  for  fifty  ;  and  the  pound  of  coffee  rose 
from  fifty  sols  to  eighteen  livres.  "Wages  rose  correspondingly.  In  the 
course  of  three  months,  the  silversmiths  of  Paris  had  received  orders 
for,  and  manufactured  above  £7,000,000  sterling  worth  of  plate — about 
$35,000,000.  Paris  was  crowded  with  foreign  visitors  who  had  come  to 
speculate  in  the  stocks.  No  fewer  than  305,000  strangers  are  said  to 
have  been  living  in  Paris  in  November,  1719,  and  many  of  these  were 
obliged  to  live  in  granaries  and  lofts,  there  not  being  sufficient  house  ac 
commodation  for  them  all.  The  promenaders  in  the  streets  were  clothed 
in  velvet  and  gold ;  and  the  winter  of  1719-20  was  more  brilliant  than 
the  finest  summer  ever  seen  before. 

Law  was  now  the  idol  of  the  country,  and  the  enthusiasm  in  his  favour 
was  greatly  increased  by  his  making  a  public  profession  of  the  Roman  Ca 
tholic  religion,  in  December,  1719.  The  only  obstacle  to  his  admission  to 
political  dignity  being  thus  removed,  he  was  declared  comptroller-general 
of  the  finances,  in  January,  1720,  a  situation  equivalent  to  that  of  prime- 
minister  of  France.  Literary  and  other  honours  were  showered  upon 
him;  venal  poets  and  parasites  complimented  him  as  the  saviour  of 
Trance  ;  he  had  realized  an  enormous  fortune  and  had  purchased  fifteen 
or  sixteen  large  estates,  together  with  houses  and  mansions,  amounting 
to  the  value  of  7,000,000  livres  ;  yet  his  generosity  was  equal  to  his 
wealth.  On  the  occasion  of  professing  himself  a  Catholic  he  gave  500,000 
livres  to  assist  in  completing  the  church  at  St.  Roch  ;  he  distributed 
another  sum  of  500,000  among  the  English  who  were  impoverished  in 
following  the  fortunes  of  the  exiled  house  of  Stuart,  and  his  private  libe 
ralities  were  constant  and  munificent.  His  native  city,  Edinburgh, 
transmitted  him  its  freedom  in  a  gold  box,  proud  of  having  given  him 
birth  ;  English  and  Scottish  noblemen  boasted  of  being  acquainted  with 
Mr.  Law,  although  his  return  to  England  would  have  been  attended  with 
danger,  in  consequence  of  an  appeal  being  still  pending,  against  a  par 
don  which  had  been  granted  to  him  in  1695,  after  he  had  been  found 
guilty  of  murder  in  killing  one  Wilson  in  a  duel,  and  sentenced  to  death. 
He  had  escaped  from  prison  to  the  continent,  and  notwithstanding  the 
rewards  offered  for  his  apprehension  in  the  "  London  Gazette,"  he  had 
hitherto  remained  undisturbed  on  the  continent,  and  had  risen  to  his 
present  extraordinary  elevation.  The  fugitive  from  England,  the  specu 
lator  and  gambler  of  Holland,  Belgium,  Italy,  and  France,  had  become 
the  greatest  man  of  the  age,  and  the  future  sovereign  (George  II.,  then 
Prince  of  Wales)  to  whom  he  might  be  indebted  for  his  life,  which  had 
been  forfeited,  was  a  dabbler  in  his  famous  Mississippi  stock. 

The  bubble  however  was  already  full  blown.    The  credit  of  the  Bank 


336  NOTES  TO  CHAPTER  II. 

and  of  the  India  Company  was  at  its  height  in  the  months  of  November 
and  December,  1719,  and  January,  1720,  when  shares  in  the  company 
were  selling  at  10,000  livres  each.  Such  was  the  abundance  of  money 
in  the  Bank  that  it  offered  to  lend  sums  of  any  amount,  on  proper  secu 
rity,  at  an  interest  of  only  two  per  cent.  Now,  however,  a  drain  of  specie 
from  the  Bank  began  to  be  discernible.  Numbers  of  persons  possessed 
of  stock  in  the  company,  either  foreseeing  disaster  or  haunted  with  a 
vague  suspicion  that  so  prosperous  a  state  of  things  could  not  last  long, 
began  to  sell  out,  and  convert  their  shares  into  gold  and  silver  and  other 
precious  commodities,  which  they  either  hoarded  up  or  sent  secretly  out 
of  the  country.  The  Prince  de  Conti,  offended  at  being  refused  a  quan 
tity  of  fresh  shares,  for  which  he  petitioned,  sent  to  the  Bank  to  demand 
specie  for  so  enormous  a  mass  of  notes,  that  three  wagons  were  required 
to  carry  the  money  from  the  bank  to  his  house.  Vernesobre  de  Laurieu, 
a  Prussian,  whom  Mr.  Law  had  appointed  a  cashier  in  the  bank,  remitted 
nearly  40,000,000  livres  to  foreign  countries,  and  then  disappeared.  Va 
rious  stock-jobbers  remitted  hundreds  of  thousands  of  louis-d'ors  to  Eng 
land.  These  examples  were  imitated  by  others,  for  nothing  is  more 
contagious  than  fear ;  and  in  a  short  time  500,000,000  livres  in  specie 
were  sent  out  of  France. 

To  put  a  stop  to  this  run  upon  the  Bank,  which,  from  the  immense 
quantity  of  notes  in  circulation,  would  be  ruinous,  a  series  of  edicts  were 
issued  by  the  regent  in  February  and  March,  1720.  By  these  edicts,  pay 
ments  in  specie  were  restricted  to  small  sums,  (not  exceeding  100  livres 
in  gold,  and  10  livres  in  silver,)  while  at  the  same  time  efforts  were  made 
to  secure  a  preference  for  paper  over  specie,  by  declaring  the  value  of 
the  former  to  be  invariable,  while  that  of  the  latter  fluctuated.  People 
were  prohibited  from  converting  their  wealth  into  gold  and  silver  plate 
without  a  royal  license,  the  demand  for  plate  having  been  one  of  the 
principal  means  of  withdrawing  the  precious  metals  from  circulation. 
The  exertions  thus  made  were  for  some  time  effectual ;  and  numbers^ 
seeing  notes  passing  current  at  5  or  10  per  cent,  above  specie,  hastened 
to  convert  all  the  specie  in  their  possession  into  paper.  There  is,  however, 
in  the  minds  of  men  at  such  a  time,  a  natural  preference  for  the  metals 
over  paper  ;  and  accordingly  it  was  found  that  many  were  busy  in  secret 
hoarding  up  gold  and  silver,  and  cautiously  disposing  of  their  paper  in 
anticipation  of  the  coming  crash.  Fresh  edicts  of  a  more  stringent  and 
arbitrary  character  were  issued  ;  one,  forbidding  the  use  of  specie  alto 
gether  in  payment,  another  forbidding  any  person  to  have  in  his  posses- 
eion  more  than  500  livres  of  coin,  under  the  penalty  of  having  the  sum 
confiscated  and  the  payment  of  a  fine  in  addition. 

In  an  instant,  so  suddenly  in  fact,  that  it  is  impossible  to  trace  the 


NOTE  E.— LAW'S  MISSISSIPPI  SCHEME.  337 

steps  of  the  process,  the  nation,  which  had  been  glorying  in  its  good  for 
tune,  was  struck  with  dismay  and  despair.  The  use  of  specie  had  been 
prohibited,  but  this  could  not  restore  confidence  in  Law's  paper,  and  no 
body  would  accept  it  willingly.  It  was  felt  universally  that  Law's  scheme 
had  been  a  bubble,  and  that  it  had  now  burst.  Complaints  and  execra 
tions  arose  everywhere  against  Law,  the  Regent,  and  all  who  had  been 
concerned  in  originating  the  project.  Law  was  attacked  by  all  who  had 
envied  his  prosperity,  and  who  had  only  been  restrained  from  showing 
their  ill  will,  by  his  success,  and  he  was  accused  of  plotting  the  ruin  of 
France  ;  even  the  Regent,  who  had  hitherto  been  his  intimate  friend,  and 
at  whose  solicitations  Law  had  adopted  some  of  his  most  questionable 
measures,  turned  against  him. 

All  efforts  to  arrest  the  progress  of  the  panic  were  in  vain.  Fresh 
issues  of  notes  had  taken  place  in  consequence  of  the  decree  ordering 
all  payments  to  be  made  in  paper,  and  in  May,  1720,  the  notes  issued 
amounted  to  2,600,000,000  livres,  while  the  quantity  of  specie  in  the 
kingdom  was  estimated  at  1,300,000,000,  or  only  half  as  much.  To  equalize 
the  paper  with  the  specie,  there  were  two  plans :  either  to  double  the 
value  of  the  specie,  or  halve  the  value  of  the  paper.  Law  advised  the 
former,  as  being  a  thing  to  which  the  people  were  quite  accustomed;  but 
his  advice  was  overruled ;  and  on  the  21st  of  May,  an  edict  was  published 
reducing  the  value  of  the  paper  by  a  gradual  process  till  it  should  bo 
exactly  half  its  present  value — a  note  for  10,000  livres  passing  current 
for  only  5000,  and  so  on.  This  reduction  was  a  violation  of  the  original 
constitution  of  Law's  Bank ;  and  if  paper  had  been  disliked  before,  the 
promulgation  of  this  edict  made  matters  a  thousand  times  worse  ;  bank 
notes  were  regarded  as  waste  paper,  and  a  person  might  have  starved 
with  100,000  livres  of  paper  money  in  his  pocket. 

On  the  27th  of  May  the  Bank  stopped  payment  in  specie,  and  on  the 
same  day  Law  was  dismissed  from  his  office  as  minister  of  finance.  Riots 
and  mobbings  took  place  ;  troops  occupied  Paris  to  prevent  insurrections 
from  breaking  out ;  Law's  life  was  in  danger,  and  the  Regent  gave  him  a 
guard  as  he  drove  through  the  street ;  but  at  length,  not  being  safe  in 
his  own  house,  he  took  refuge  in  the  Palais  Royal. 

Various  ineffectual  expedients  were  adopted  to  sustain  some  certain 
value  for  the  notes  ;  the  funding  of  them  in  annuities,  and  their  redemp 
tion  by  other  issues  of  a  distinct  character  were  proposed,  but  still  the 
holders  of  them  hesitated  to  accept  the  propositions  offered  by  the  govern 
ment  ;  decrees  passed  declaring  that  the  notes  would  be  good  for  no 
purpose  whatever  after  the  first  of  November,  1721.  Numbers  however 
kept  their  notes  until  after  the  specified  time,  in  the  vain  hope  of  better 
terms,  and  the  consequence  was  that  large  quantities  of  Law's  notes  re- 
VOL.  I.— 22 


338  NOTES   TO   CHAPTER   II. 

mained  in  houses  as  family  lumber,  down  even  to  the  date  of  the  French 
revolution,  when  they  were  produced  as  curiosities,  to  be  compared  with 
the  assignats. 

With  the  Bank,  fell  the  India  Company ;  no  efforts  could  keep  its 
credit  alive  ;  the  management  of  the  Mint  and  the  administration  of  the 
revenues  of  government  were  taken  out  of  its  hands  ;  and  it  was  de 
graded  to  a  mere  trading  body.  Such  was  the  end  of  the  famous  Mis 
sissippi  bubble. 

Law  obtained  leave  to  quit  France — his  life  was  not  safe  in  it.  His 
enormous  fortune  he  had  invested  in  French  lands  and  securities,  which 
were  confiscated  the  moment  he  left  the  country.  The  sole  property  he 
carried  with  him  was  a  diamond  worth  about  £5000  sterling.  After 
travelling  through  various  parts  of  the  continent,  he  returned  to  England, 
where  he  resided  four  years,  supporting  himself  by  his  talents  for  gam 
bling.  He  died  at  Venice,  in  1729,  in  very  embarrassed  circumstances. 
(See  Chambers's  Miscel.  Wood's  Life  of  Law  of  Lauriston.  Mackay's 
Popular  Delusions.) 


NOTE  F.     Page  88. 

For  the  gratification  of  the  curious  we  give  a  more  particular  account 
of  this  principal  French  fortress  on  the  Mississippi.  It  was  begun  in 
1720,  and  completed  eighteen  months  afterward.  It  was  erected  in  the 
vicinity  of  Prairie  du  Rocher,  and  was  originally  one  mile  and  a  half 
from  the  river  bank.  Its  form  was  quadrilateral,  with  four  bastions, 
built  of  stone,  and  well  cemented  with  lime.  Each  side  was  three  hun 
dred  and  forty  feet  in  length ;  the  walls  were  three  feet  thick  and  fifteen 
feet  high.  Within  the  walls  were  spacious  stone  barracks,  a  spacious 
magazine,  two  deep  wells,  and  such  buildings  as  are  common  at  such 
posts.  The  port-holes  or  loups  were  formed  by  four  solid  blocks  of  free 
stone  properly  shaped.  The  cornices,  and  casements  about  the  gates, 
were  of  the  same  material.  It  was  greatly  repaired  and  enlarged  in 
1750. 

In  1770  the  river  broke  through  its  banks,  and  formed  a  channel  near 
one  of  the  bastions,  and  in  two  years  afterward,  two  bastions  being  un 
dermined,  the  English  abandoned  it  in  1772.  It  was  then  suffered  to 
fall  to  decay,  and  in  1809  it  was  a  splendid  ruin,  grown  over  in  its  area 
with  forest  trees,  vines,  and  weeds.  Some  of  the  trees  then  were  from 
seven  to  twelve  inches  in  diameter.  (Stoddart's  Sketches,  p.  234.) 

A  good  description  of  this  fort,  as  it  appeared  in  1765  and  1829,  may 
be  seen  in  Hall's  Sketches  of  the  West,  vol.  i.  154-157. 


NOTE  G.— CRESPEL'S  VOYAGES.  339 


NOTE  G.     Page  96. 

Extract  from  the  Voyages  of  the  Rev.  Father  Emanuel  Crespel,  in 
Canada,  and  his  shipwreck  in  returning  to  France,  in  the  years  from 
1723  to  1742. 

LETTER  FIRST. 

On  the  seventeenth  day  of  March,  in  the  year  of  my  departure  from1 
Quebec,  (1726,)  M.  de  la  Croix  de  St.  Valier,  bishop  of  that  city,  confer 
red  upon  me  the  degree  of  priest,  and  gave  me  shortly  afterward  a  mission, , 
or  curacy,  called  Forel,  situated  south  of  the  river  St.  Lawrence,  betweea 
the  City  of  the  Three  Rivers,  and  Montreal. 

I  was  withdrawn  from  my  curacy,  where  I  had  already  remained  two* 
years,  and  appointed  Almoner  to  a  party  of  four  hundred  Frenchmen,  that 
the  Marquis  de  Beauharnois  had  joined  to  eight  or  nine  hundred  savages, 
of  ail  manner  of  nations,  but  principally  Iroquois,  Ilurons,  Nepissings, 
and  Outaouacs,  to  whom  M.  Peset,  priest,  and  Father  de  la  Bertonniere, 
Jesuit,  served  as  Almoners.  These  troops,  commanded  by  Monsieur  de 
Lignerie,  were  commissioned  to  go  and  destroy  a  nation  called  the  Foxes, 
whose  principal  habitation  is  distant  from  Montreal  about  four  hundred 
and  fifty  leagues. 

We  commenced  our  march  on  the  5th  of  June,  1728,  and  ascended 
nearly  a  hundred  and  fifty  leagues  the  great  river  which  bears  the  name 
of  the  Outaouacs,  and  which  is  filled  with  falls  and  portages.  We  quit 
ted  it  at  Mataouan  to  take  the  one  which  empties  into  Lake  Nepissing : 
it  is  about  thirty  leagues  in  length,  and  is  obstructed  by  falls  and  port 
ages,  like  that  of  the  Outaouacs.  From  this  river  we  entered  into  the 
lake,  the  width  of  which  is  about  eight  leagues,  and  from  this  lake, 
French  River  very  soon  conducts  us  to  Lake  Huron,  into  which  it  emp 
ties,  after  traversing  more  than  thirty  leagues  with  great  rapidity. 

As  it  is  not  possible  for  many  persons  to  travel  together  on  these  small  > 
rivers,  it  was  agreed  that  those  who  first  passed,  should  wait  for  the  • 
others  at  the  entrance  of  Lake  Huron,  at  a  place  called  the  Prairie,  and 
which  is,  indeed,  a  most  beautiful  prairie.     It  is  there  that  I  saw,  for  the 
first  time,  the  rattlesnake,  whose  bite  is  mortal :  when  I  shall  have  the- 
pleasure  of  seeing  you,  I  will  speak  to  you  more  particularly  about  these 
animals ;  it  will  suffice  for  the  present  to  tell  you  that  none  of  our  party 
were  incommoded  by  them. 

The  twenty-sixth  of  July,  being  all  reunited,  I  celebrated  mass,  which 
I  had  deferred  until  that  time,  and  the  next  morning,  we  started  for 
Michillima,  or  Missillimakinac,  which  is  a  station  situated  betweea 


340  NOTES  TO   CHAPTER  II. 

Lakes  Huron  and  Michigan.  Although  we  had  a  hundred  leagues  to 
travel,  the  wind  was  so  favourable  that  we  arrived  in  less  than  six  days. 
We  remained  there  for  some  time,  in  order  to  repair  all  damages  incurred 
at  the  portages  and  falls ;  while  there,  I  consecrated  two  flags,  and  buried 
several  soldiers  who  had  been  carried  off  by  fatigue  or  sickness. 

The  tenth  of  August  we  left  Michillimackinack  and  entered  Lako 
Michigan.  As  we  had  been  detained  there  two  days  by  the  wind,  our 
savages  had  had  time  to  take  a  hunt,  in  which  they  killed  several 
moose  and  elk,  and  they  were  polite  enough  to  offer  to  share  with  us. 
We  made  some  objections  at  first,  but  they  compelled  us  to  accept  their 
present,  saying,  that  since  we  had  shared  with  them  the  fatigues  of  the 
journey,  it  was  right  that  they  should  share  with  us  the  comforts  which 
they  had  found,  and  that  they  should  not  consider  themselves  as  men,  if 
they  acted  in  a  different  manner  toward  others.  This  discourse,  which 
one  of  our  men  rendered  into  French  for  me,  affected  me  very  much. 
What  humanity  in  savages !  and  how  many  men  might  be  found  in  Eu 
rope,  to  whom  the  title  of  barbarian  might  much  better  be  applied  than 
to  these  inhabitants  of  America. 

The  generosity  of  our  savages  merited  the  most  lively  gratitude  on 
our  part ;  already  for  some  time,  not  having  been  able  to  find  suitable 
hunting  grounds,  we  had  been  compelled  to  eat  nothing  but  bacon  ;  the 
moose  and  elk  which  they  gave  us,  removed  the  disgust  which  we  be 
gan  to  have  for  our  ordinary  fare. 

The  fourteenth  of  the  same  month  we  continued  our  journey  as  far  as 
the  Detour  de  Chicagou,  and  as  we  were  doubling  Cap  a  la  Mort,  which 
is  about  five  leagues  across,  wo  encountered  a  gust  of  wind,  which  drove 
ashore  several  of  the  canoes  that  were  unable  to  double  a  point  in  order 
to  obtain  a  shelter;  they  were  broken  by  the  shock  ;  and  we  were  obliged 
to  distribute  among  the  other  canoes  the  men,  who,  by  the  greatest  good 
fortune  in  the  world,  had  all  escaped  from  the  danger.  The  next  day  we 
crossed  over  to  the  Folles  Avoines,  in  order  to  invite  the  inhabitants  to 
come  and  oppose  our  landing ;  they  fell  into  the  trap,  and  were  entirely 
defeated. 

The  following  day  we  camped  at  the  mouth  of  a  river  called  La  Gas- 
parde ;  our  savages  went  into  the  woods,  but  soon  returned,  bringing 
with  them  several  roebucks  :  this  species  of  game  is  very  common  at 
this  place,  and  we  were  enabled  to  lay  in  several  days'  provisions  of  it. 

About  mid-day  on  the  17th,  we  were  ordered  to  halt  until  evening,  in 
order  that  we  might  reach  the  post  at  the  bay  during  the  night;  as  we 
wished  to  surprise  the  enemy,  whom  we  knew  were  staying  with  their 
allies  the  Saquis,  whose  village  lies  near  Fort  St.  Francis.  At  twilight 
we  commenced  our  march,  and  about  midnight  we  arrived  at  the  niouth 


NOTE  G.— CRESPEL'S  VOYAGES.  341 

of  Fox  River,  at  which  point  our  fort  is  built.  As  soon  as  we  had  ar 
rived  there,  M.  de  Lignerie  sent  some  Frenchmen  to  the  commandant  to 
ascertain  if  the  enemy  were  really  at  the  village  of  the  Saquis,  and 
having  learned  that  we  ought  still  to  find  them  there,  he  caused  all  the 
savages  and  a  detachment  of  French  troops  to  cross  over  the  river,  in 
order  to  surround  the  habitation,  and  then  ordered  the  rest  of  our  troops 
to  enter  the  village.  Notwithstanding  the  precautions  that  had  been 
taken  to  conceal  our  arrival,  (!  !)  the  savages  had  received  information 
of  it,  and  all  had  escaped  with  the  exception  of  four :  these  were  pre 
sented  to  our  savages,  who,  after  having  diverted  themselves  with  them, 
shot  them  to  death  with  their  arrows; 

I  was  much  pained  to  witness  this  horrible  spectacle ;  and  the  pleasure 
which  our  savages  took  in  making  these  unfortunate  persons  suffer,  caus 
ing  them  to  undergo  the  horrors  of  thirty  deaths  before  depriving  them  of 
life,  I  could  not  make  accord  with  the  manner  in  which  they  had  ap 
peared  to  think  some  days  before.  I  would  willingly  have  asked  them 
if  they  did  not  perceive,  as  I  did,  this  opposition  of  sentiment,  and  have 
pointed  out  to  them  what  I  saw  condemnable  in  their  proceedings  ;  but 
those  of  our  party  who  might  have  served  me  as  interpreters  were  on 
the  other  side  of  the  river,  and  I  was  obliged  to  postpone  until  another 
time  the  satisfaction  of  my  curiosity. 

After  this  little  coup-de-main  we  went  up  Fox  River,  which  is  full  of 
rapids,  and  is  about  thirty-five  or  forty  leagues  in  length.  The  24th  of 
August  we  arrived  at  the  village  of  the  Puants,  much  disposed  to  destroy 
any  inhabitants  that  might  be  found  there ;  but  their  night  had  preceded 
our  arrival,  and  we  had  nothing  to  do  but  to  burn  their  wigwams,  and 
ravage  their  fields  of  Indian  corn,  which  is  their  principal  article  of  food. 

"We  afterward  crossed  over  the  little  Fox  Lake,  at  the  end  of  which  we 
camped,  and  the  next  day,  (day  of  St.  Lewis,)  after  mass,  we  entered  a 
small  river  which  conducted  us  into  a  kind  of  swamp,  on  the  borders  of 
which  is  situated  the  grand  habitation  of  those  whom  we  were  in  search 
of.  Their  allies,  the  Saquis,  doubtless  had  informed  them  of  our  ap 
proach,  and  they  did  not  deem  it  advisable  to  await  our  arrival,  for  we 
found  in  their  village  only  a  few  women,  whom  our  savages  made  their 
slaves,  and  one  old  man,  whom  they  burnt  to  death  at  a  slow  fire,  without 
appearing  to  entertain  the  least  repugnance  towards  committing  so  bar 
barous  an  action. 

This  appeared  to  me  a  more  striking  act  of  cruelty  than  that  which  had 
been  exercised  towards  the  four  savages  found  in  the  village  of  the  Saquis. 
J  siezed  upon  this  occasion  and  circumstance  to  satisfy  my  curiosity,  about 
that  of  which  I  have  just  been  speaking.  There  was  in  our  company 
a,  Frenchman  who  could  speak  the  Iroquois  language.  I  entreated  him 


342  NOTES   TO  CHAPTER  II. 

to  tell  the  savages  that  I  was  surprised  to  see  them  take  so  much  pleasure 
in  torturing  this  unfortunate  old  man — that  the  rights  of  war  did  not 
extend  so  far.  and  that  so  barbarous  an  action  appeared  to  me  to  be  in 
direct  opposition  to  the  principles  which  they  had  professed  to  entertain 
towards  all  men.  I  was  answered  by  an  Iroquois,  who  in  order  to  justify 
his  companions,  said,  that  when  they  fell  into  the  hands  of  the  Foxes  and 
Saquis,  they  were  treated  with  still  greater  cruelty,  and  that  it  was  their 
custom  to  treat  their  enemies  in  the  same  manner  that  they  would  be 
treated  by  them  if  they  were  vanquished.  *  *  * 

*  *  *  I  was  about  to  give  him  some  further  reasons,  when  orders  were 
given  to  advance  upon  the  last  stronghold  of  the  enemy.  This  post  is  situ 
ated  upon  the  borders  of  a  small  river  which  empties  into  another  called  the 
Ouisconsin,  which  latter  discharges  itself  into  the  Mississippi,  about  thirty 
leagues  from  there.  We  found  no  person  there,  and  as  we  had  no  orders 
to  go  any  farther,  we  employed  ourselves  several  days  in  destroying  the 
fields,  in  order  to  deprive  the  enemy  of  the  means  of  subsisting  there. 
The  country  here  is  beautiful,  the  soil  is  fertile,  the  game  plenty,  and  of 
*very  fine  flavour  ;  the  nights  are  very  cold,  and  the  days  extremely  warm. 
In  my  second  letter  I  will  speak  to  you  about  my  return  to  Montreal, 
:and  of  all  that  has  happened  to  me  up  to  the  time  of  my  embarking  for 
France.  *  *  * 

Your  affectionate  brother, 

EMMANUEL  CRESPEL,  Recolet. 

NOTE. — I  am  indebted  to  the  library  of  Cyrus  Woodman,  Esq.,  of  Mi 
neral  Point,  for  the  perusal  of  this  very  small  volume.  Not  being  aware 
of  any  historical  notice  of  the  expedition  spoken  of,  I  was  at  first  doubt 
ful  of  the  truth  of  the  relation ;  but  through  the  kindness  of  Governor 
•Cass,  I  have  obtained  a  full  corroboration  of  the  facts  of  which  Crespel 
speaks.  It  is  somewhat  singular  to  observe  the  writer's  remark  on  the 
•"  precautions"  taken  by  a  body  of  1500  men  sailing  in  canoes,  and  march 
ing  some  450  leagues  to  surprise  a  tribe  of  Indians ;  and  it  is  equally 
amusing  to  see  what  a  horror  he  has  at  the  instances  of  cruelty  in  Indian, 
•warfare,  and  at  the  same  time  the  coolness  with  which  he  describes  the 
lutter  destruction  of  the  villages  and  the  cornfields  of  the  absent  Foxes. 

The  following  is  an  abstract  from  an  official  report  made  for  the  use  of 
the  French  council  and  ministers,  agreeably  to  the  uniform  usage.  It 
was  procured  from  the  archives  at  Paris  by  the  American  Minister, 
.General  Lewis  Cass,  and  by  him  communicated  to  me. — W.  K,  S. 


NOTE   G.-ENTERPRISE   AGAINST   THE   FOXES.  34$ 

CANADA. 
Prom  Messrs.  De  BeauTiarnois  and  De  Argemait,  1st  September,  1728. 

ENTERPRISE    AGAINST    THE    FOXES. 

It  having  been  signified  to  them  that  his  Majesty  wished  that  they  had 
waited  his  orders  before  commencing  this  undertaking : — 

They  answer  that  the  information  which  they  received  from  every 
quarter,  of  the  secret  wampums  which  the  English  had  sent  among  the 
nations  in  the  upper  country,  to  cut  the  throats  of  the  French  in  all  the 
posts,  and  the  war  parties  which  the  Foxes  were  raising  every  day,  did 
not  allow  them  to  defer  this  expedition  for  a  year,  without  endangering 
the  loss  of  all  the  posts  in  the  upper  country. 

i  They  learned  with  regret  that  the  Foxes  had  fled  before  the  army  had 
arrived  in  their  country.  They  will  do  all  they  can  to  prevent  any  re 
sults  from  this,  and  will  attentively  observe  all  the  movements  which  any 
of  those  nations  who  could  enter  into  the  interests  of  the  Foxes  might 
make,  so  as  to  prevent  any  surprise. 

The  Marquis  de  Beauharnois,  by  a  private  letter  of  the  same  day,  sends 
the  instructions  which  he  had  given  to  M.  de  Lignery  for  this  expedition, 
and  the  letter  which  this  officer  entreated  to  enclose  in  his  despatches, 
and  by  which  he  attempts  to  justify  himself. 

This  letter  states  that  he  made  use  of  all  his  skill  to  succeed  in  the 
eKpedition,  but  it  was  impossible  for  him  to  surprise  the  enemy,  not  be 
ing  able  to  conceal  from  them,  any  further  than  the  bay,  the  knowledge 
of  his  march. 

He  took  at  this  post,  before  day-break,  three  Puants  of  the  Foxes,  and 
one  Fox,  who  were  discovered  by  some  Sakis  whom  he  had  brought  from 
Mackinac.  These  four  savages  were  bound  and  sent  to  the  tribes,  who 
put  them  to  death  the  next  day.  He  afterward  continued  his  march, 
composed  of  1000  savages  and  450  French,  as  far  as  the  village  of  the 
Puants,  and  afterward  to  the  Foxes.  They  all  fled  as  soon  as  they  heard 
•we  were  at  the  bay,  of  which  they  were  informed  by  some  of  their  own. 
people,  who  escaped  by  swimming.  They  captured,  however,  in  the  four 
Fox  villages,  two  women,  a  girl,  and  an  old  man,  who  were  killed  and 
burnt.  He  learnt  from  them  that  the  tribe  had  left  four  days  before ; 
that  it  had  a  collection  of  canoes,  in  which  the  old  men,  the  women,  and 
children  had  embarked,  and  that  the  warriors  had  gone  by  land :  he 
urged  the  other  tribes  to  follow  in  pursuit  of  them,  but  there  was  only  a 
portion  of  them  who  would  consent,  the  others  saying  the  enemy  had  got 
too  far  for  them  to  be  able  to  catch  them  up.  The  French  had  nothing 
tut  Indian  corn  to  eat,  and  this,  added  to  the  advanced  season,  and  a 


344  NOTES   TO   CHAPTER   II. 

march  of  400  leagues  on  their  return,  by  which  the  safety  of  half  the 
army  was  endangered,  decided  them  upon  burning  the  four  Fox  villages, 
their  forts,  and  their  huts,  to  destroy  all  that  they  could  find  in  their 
fields,  Indian  corn,  peas,  beans,  and  gourds,  of  which  they  had  great 
abundance.  They  did  the  same  execution  amongst  the  Puants.  It  i» 
certain  that  half  of  these  nations,  who  number  4000  souls,  will  die  of 
hunger,  and  that  they  will  come  in  and  ask  mercy. 

Major  de  Cavagnal,  who  has  been  in  the  whole  expedition,  and  has 
perfectly  performed  his  duty,  is  able  to  certify  to  all  this. 

In  returning,  having  passed  by  a  fort  of  the  Sakis,  these  savages  told 
him  in  a  council  of  our  tribes,  that  they  no  longer  wished  to  stay  with 
them,  from  fear  of  the  Foxes,  and  that  they  were  going  to  retire  to  the 
river  St.  Joseph.  It  was  impossible  to  reassure  them,  which  obliged  him? 
seeing  this  post  abandoned,  to  burn  the  fort,  lest  the  Foxes  or  their  allies 
should  take  possession  of  it,  fortify  themselves,  and  make  war  upon  our 
nearest  allies,  the  Folles  Avoines. 

In  a  second  letter  of  M.  de-Beauharnios,  of  the  8th  of  September,  1728, 
he  states  that  neither  the  glory  nor  the  arms  of  the  King  were  at  all  in 
terested  in  this  expedition,  the  Foxes  having  abandoned  every  thing  and 
retired  to  the  Ajaoucs.1 

All  the  army  attributes  the  failure  to  M.  de  Lignery's  stay  at  Mackinac 
which  was  considerable.  But  the  climax  was,  that  a  Potowatamy,  who 
had  come  to  the  army  with  four  others,  three  of  whom  did  not  appear, 
was  sent  back  to  his  comrades  by  M.  de  Lignery  to  say  that  he  had  come 
to  talk  with  the  tribes,  and  even  with  the  Foxes,  who  were  only  two  daya 
off.  This  savage  warned  the  latter  of  all  he  had  seen  in  the  army,  and 
instantly  they  prepared  to  take  flight.  The  French  and  savages  wished 
to  march  upon  them,  but  M.  de  Lignery  would  not  hasten  his  departure, 
under  the  idea  that  the  Potowatamy  would  return.  The  murmur  was 
very  general  against  him  in  the  army :  the  savages  in  their  speeches  have 
not  spared  M.  de  Lignery,  and  have  asserted  that  the  people  from  the 
tipper  country  ought  to  come  in  the  spring,  and  state  their  complaints  to 
Mm. 

M.  de  Lignery  performed  another  manoeuvre  on  his  return  to  the  bay, 
'which  no  one  could  understand.  Because  the  Sakis  said  they  were  afraid 
of  the  Foxes,  and  that  they  wished  to  establish  themselves  at  the  river 
.St.  Joseph,  without  well  examining  the  consequences  of  the  step  he  was 
Staking,  he  decided  upon  destroying  the  fort,  though  he  had  people  and 
•ammunition,  and  could  wait  for  orders  until  the  next  year ;  and  surely 
the  Sakis  would  not  have  left,  and  would  not  have  dared  to  do  so. 

1  lowas. 


NOTE  H.— MAJOR  ROBERT  ROGERS.         345 

In  this  business  M.  de  Lignery  was  the  man  in  power  in  all  the  colony, 
and  French  and  savages  would  have  marched  under  his  orders  with  great 
pleasure. 

M.  de  Beauharnois  is  sorry  to  be  obliged  to  state  things  as  they  are, 
but  there  will  be  many  letters  which  will  say  the  same  thing,  and  he 
thinks  it  better  that  Monseigneur  should  know  the  truth  of  the  matter. 
He  might  add  that  they  say  that  M.  de  Lignery  was  ill,  and  that  he  did 
not  wish  that  any  other  should  reap  any  glory  from  the  undertaking. 
M.  de  Beaujeu,  who  was  seconc^in  command,  would  have  admirably  ac 
quitted  himself.  Messrs,  de  Artagnal,  Dubuisson,  and  all  the  other 
officers,  would  have  desired  nothing  better  than  to  have  gone  ahead. 
Every  one  wished  it,  but  M.  de  Lignery  would  not  listen  to  any  repre 
sentations. 

The  following  marginal  notes  are  appended  to  the  above  paper  : — 

"  M.  de  Lignery  allows  the  Foxes  to  escape." 

"  It  is  to  be  regretted  that  this  enterprise  did  not  have  the  success  whicli 
•was  expected  from  it,  both  from  the  expense  of  it,  and  from  the  conse 
quences  it  might  have  had.  It  is  certain  that  M.  de  Beauharnois  took 
all  possible  measures  that  it  should  have  no  evil  results.  There  is  every 
reason  to  believe  that  the  Foxes  who  suffered  much  from  the  destruction 
of  their  villages  and  plantations,  will  ask  for  peace,  and  that  is  extremely 
to  be  desired." 


NOTE  H.     Page  111. 

The  following  notice  of  Major  Rogers  is  found  in  Parkman's  History 
of  the  Conspiracy  of  Pontiac,  and  reference  is  made  to  authorities,  MS. 
papers,  &c.,  therein  cited.  See  History,  chap.  vi. 

"Major  Robert  Rogers  was  a  native  of  New  Hampshire,  an  associate 
of  Putnam  and  Stark' s ;  he  commanded  a  corps  of  rangers,  whose  ser 
vices  during  the  French  war  rendered  them  famous  throughout  America; 
the  name  of  Rogers's  Rangers  was  never  mentioned  but  with  honour. 
Six  years  after  his  expedition  to  Detroit  to  receive  possession  of  the  posts 
from  the  French,  he  was  tried  hy  a  court-martial  for  a  meditated  act  of 
treason,  the  surrender  of  Michillimackinac  into  the  hands  of  the  Spa 
niards,  who  were  at  that  time  masters  of  Upper  Louisiana.  Having 
afterwards  passed  over  to  the  Barbary  States,  ho  entered  the  service  of 
the  Dey  of  Algiers,  and  fought  two  battles  under  his  banners.  At  the 
opening  of  the  war  of  independence  he  returned  to  his  native  country, 
he  made  professions  of  patriotism,  but  was  strongly  suspected  by 


346  NOTES   TO   CHAPTER  II. 

many,  including  Washington  himself,  of  acting  the  part  of  a  spy.  In 
fact  he  soon  openly  espoused  the  British  cause,  and  received  a  colonel's 
commission  from  the  crown.  His  services,  however,  proved  of  little  con 
sequence.  In  1778,  he  was  proscribed  and  banished  under  the  Act  of 
New  Hampshire,  and  the  remainder  of  his  life  was  passed  in  such  ob 
scurity  that  it  is  difficult  to  discover  where  and  when  he  died.  Rogers's 
published  works  consist  of  the  "Journals  of  his  Ranging  Service,"  and 
his  "  Concise  Account  of  North  America."  To  these  may  be  added  a 
curious  drama,  called  "  Ponteach,  or  the  Savages  of  America,"  which 
appears  to  have  been  written,  in  part  at  least,  by  him.  The  steep  moun 
tain  called  Rogers's  Slide,  near  the  northern  end  of  Lake  George,  derives 
its  name  from  the  tradition,  that  during  the  French  war,  being  pursued 
Tby  a  party  of  Indians,  he  slid  on  snow  shoes  down  its  precipitous  front 
for  more  than  a  thousand  feet,  to  the  frozen  lake  below.  On  beholding 
the  achievement,  the  Indians,  as  well  they  might,  believed  him  under 
the  protection  of  the  Great  Spirit,  and  gave  over  the  chase.  The  story 
seems  unfounded;  yet  it  was  not  far  from  this  mountain,  that  the 
Rangers  fought  one  of  their  most  desperate  winter  battles  against  a 
force  of  many  times  their  number." 


NOTE  I.     Page  113. 

The  following  note  is  extracted  from  M.  L.  Martin's  discourse  before 
the  Historical  Society  of  Wisconsin,  1851 : — 

"  About  the  year  1750,  Sieur  Augustin  du  Langlade  became  the  princi 
pal  proprietor  of  the  post  at  Green  Bay,  and  his  descendants  are  there 
at  the  present  day.  He  was  a  man  of  education  and  character,  and  the 
pure  idiom  of  his  native  tongue  and  the  polished  manners  brought  hither 
from  the  French  court  have  been  transmitted  uncorrupted  to  the  genera 
tions  which  succeeded  him.  A  distinguished  French  traveller  within  the 
last  few  years  expressed  his  surprise  at  hearing  from  a  native  citizen  of 
our  country,  and  who  had  never  been  beyond  the  limits  of  our  State,  the 
purity  and  elegance  of  expression  which  distinguishes  the  refined  circles 
of  the  French  metropolis.  His  son,  Charles  de  Langlade,  a  native  of  the 
country,  bore  a  conspicuous  part  in  the  French  war,  and  we  find  him 
acting  in  the  capacity  of  lieutenant,  afterward  of  captain,  under  the 
orders  of  Vaudreuil  at  Mackinac,  St.  Joseph,  and  at  Duquesne.  He  also 
was  a  man  of  great  energy,  active  and  persevering  in  enterprises,  and 
possessed  in  a  high  degree  the  confidence  of  the  King  and  Government. 
In  17GO  he  was  commissioned  by  Louis  XV.,  and  was  appointed  second 
in  command  at  Michillimackinac,  at  which  place  he  still  remained  on 


NOTE  K.— BUTTE  DES  MOIITS.  347 

the  4th  of  June,  1763,  when  the  Indians  surprised  and  massacred  the 
troops  stationed  at  that  post.  In  1760,  Vaudreuil  informs  him  that  he 
was  under  the  necessity  of  surrendering  Montreal  to  a  superior  force 
under  General  Amherst,  and  that  the  English  had  thus  become  masters 
of  Canada.  Major  Etherington  soon  afterward  took  possession  of  Fork 
Mackinac  and  its  dependencies,  and  in  April,  1763,  we  find  him  giving 
authority  to  the  Messrs.  Langlade  to  take  up  their  permanent  residence 
at  Green  Bay.  In  1782,  Lieutenant-governor  Sinclair  repeats  the  per 
mission  in  favour  of  the  widow  of  Langlade  senior,  and  thus  the  infant 
settlement  of  our  State,  which  had  been  commenced  and  continued  under 
French  auspices,  is  sanctioned  and  encouraged  under  the  more  rigorous 
and  arbitrary  rule  of  the  British  crown.  Of  the  great-grand-children  of 
Augustin  Langlade,  the  only  one  now  surviving  is  Augustin  Grignon  of 
Butte  des  Morts,  Winnebago  county,  aged  74  years." 

Nevertheless  the  conduct  of  Langlade  towards  Mr.  Henry  during  the 
massacre  by  the  Indians  at  Miehillimackinac,  exhibits  much  of  inhu 
manity.  See  Doc.  Hist.,  Henry's  Narrative. 


NOTE  K.     Page  120. 

Parkman,  in  his  History  of  the  Conspiracy  of  Pontiac,  (chap.  xii. 
p.  233,)  in  a  note,  has  the  following  remarks : — 

"  The  annals  of  these  remote  and  gloomy  regions  are  involved  in  such 
obscurity,  that  it  is  hard  to  discover  the  precise  character  of  the  events 
to  which  Pontiac  here  refers;  (events  of  1746.)  The  only  allusion  to 
them  which  the  writer  has  met  with,  is  the  following,  inscribed  on  a 
tattered  scrap  of  soiled  paper,  found  among  the  McDougal  manuscripts. 

"'Five  miles  below  the  mouth  of  Wolf  River  is  the  Great  Death  Ground. 
This  took  its  name  from  the  circumstance  that  some  years  before  the 
old  French  war,  a  great  battle  was  fought  between  the  French  troops, 
assisted'  by  the  Menominees  and  Ottavrays,  on  the  one  side,  and  the  Sac 
and  Fox  Indians  on  the  other.  The  Sacs  and  Foxes  were  nearly  all  cut 
off;  and  this  proved  the  cause  of  their  eventual  expulsion  from  that 
country. 

"The  McDougal  manuscripts  above  referred  to,  belonged  to  a  son  of  the 
Lieutenant  McDougal  who  was  the  fellow-prisoner  of  Major  Campbell ; 
(detained  by  Pontiac  at  the  siege  of  Detroit.)  On  the  death  of  the 
younger  McDougal,  the  papers,  which  were  very  voluminous,  and  con 
tained  various  notes  concerning  the  Indian  war,  and  the  captivity  of  his 
father,  came  into  the  possession  of  a  family  at  the  town  of  Palmer,  in 


348  NOTES   TO   CHAPTER  II. 

Michigan,  who  permitted  such  of  them  as  related  to  the  subjects  in 
question,  to  be  copied  by  the  writer." 

Schoolcraft,  in  his  "Historical  Discourse,"  speaking  of  the  Sac  and 
Pox  Indians,  says — "  The  Outagamies  'were  driven  from  Old  Toronto, 
through  the  Straits  of  Niagara  to  Detroit,  where  they  played  a  conspicu 
ous  part  in  the  Pontiac  war.  They  afterward  concentrated  their  re 
maining  force  at  Green  Bay,  where  they  formed  a  close  alliance  with  the 
Sauks,  and  for  a  while  sustained  themselves.  But  they  were  pursued 
by  the  French,  with  the  aid  of  the  Chippeways  and  Menominees.  They 
•were  beaten  in  two  sanguinary  battles  on  the  St.  Croix  and  Fox  Rivers, 
fled  to  the  Ouisconsin,  and  finally  sought  refuge  west  of  the  Mississippi." 

There  is,  in  the  above  extract,  evidently  a  blending  of  dates,  or  a  use 
of  the  term  "Pontiac  war/'  for  a  war  under  "Maekinac  the  Turtle/' 
against  the  French,  in  1746.  For  certainly,  after  the  Pontiac  war 
against  the  English,  in  1763,  there  was  no  expedition  of  the  French 
against  the  Outagamies  which  caused  two  sanguinary  battles — such  bat 
tles  were  undoubtedly  fought  by  the  French,  assisted  by  their  allies  the 
Chippeways  and  Menominees,  but  at  a  period  long  anterior  to  the  so- 
called  <;  Pontiac  war."  W.  K.  S. 


NOTES   TO  CHAPTER  III. 

NOTE  A.     Pago  128. 

UNDER   BRITISH   DOMINION. 

Before  the  execution  of  Jay's  Treaty  of  1794,  a  project  was  devised 
between  two  or  three  adventurers  of  the  States,  and  a  number  of  mer 
chants  and  traders  of  Detroit,  which,  had  it  succeeded,  would  have  pro 
duced  great  injury  to  Michigan.  In  1795,  Robert  Randall,  of  Pennsyl 
vania,  and  Charles  Whitney,  of  Vermont,  were  taken  into  custody  by 
order  of  the  House  of  Congress,  for  an  unwarrantable  attempt  to  cor 
rupt  the  integrity  of  its  members.  Randall  had  visited  Detroit  in  pur 
suit  of  some  object  in  which  he  had  failed,  and  he  soon  adopted  a  com 
prehensive  plan  to  improve  his  fortune.  In  connection  with  Charles 
Whitney  and  another  individual,  he  entered  into  an  agreement  with 
seven  merchants  residing  at  or  near  Detroit,  through  which  the  parties 
bound  themselves  to  obtain  a  pre-emption  right  from  the  United  States 
of  a  certain  territory  therein  defined,  which  was  to  be  purchased  from 
the  Indians.  The  tract  contained,  it  is  supposed,  nearly  twenty  millions 
of  acres,  and  was  embraced  by  Lakes  Erie,  Huron,  and  Michigan.  It 
•was  given  in  evidence  before  Congress,  that  Randall  and  Whitney  had 
unfolded  to  several  members  their  scheme,  and  by  this  it  appeared  that 
the  territory  was  to  be  divided  into  forty-one  shares,  five  of  which  were 
to  belong  to  the  traders  of  Detroit,  who  were  parties  to  the  agreement — 
six  were  to  be  appropriated  to  Randall  and  his  coadjutors,  and  the  rest 
were  to  be  divided  among  the  members  of  Congress  who  might  give  their 
influence  to  the  measure.  The  amount  proposed  to  be  paid  for  the  right 
to  make  this  purchase,  was  from  a  half  to  one  million  of  dollars.  These 
merchants,  it  was  maintained,  exercised  so  great  influence  over  the  In 
dians,  as  to  make  an  advantageous  purchase  practicable.  It  was  main 
tained  in  opposition  to  this  measure,  that  there  was  a  bar  in  the  fact  that 
the  treaty  gave  an  exclusive  pre-emption  right  to  the  United  States.  But 
it  was  urged  on  the  other  side,  that  the  Indians  were  dissatisfied  with 
this  treaty,  and  would  not  be  bound  by  it ;  and  that  this  plan  would,  by 
appeasing  the  savages,  restore  tranquillity  to  the  country.  Having  been 
brought  before  the  House,  Yfhitney  was  discharged,  while  Randall  re 
ceived  a  public  reprimand,  and  was  obliged  to  pay  the  fees  which  had. 

S43 


350  NOTES  TO  CHAPTER  III. 

accrued  in  the  trial  of  his  cause.  (Whiting's  Historical  Discourse.    Lan- 
man.) 


NOTE  B.     Page  128. 

The  following  is  an  extract  of  a  letter  of  Sir  William  Johnson,  to  the 
Board  of  Trade,  dated  March  22,  1766.  It  is  among  the  "  London 
(MS.)  Documents,"  preserved  in  the  State  Library  at  Albany,  and  is 
found  in  vol.  xxxix.  p.  42.  The  extract  has  been  furnished  me  by  Lyman 
C.  Draper,  Esq.: — 

In  this  letter,  Sir  William  Johnson,  in  speaking  of  the  "  Illinois," 
says,  "Just  now  I  have  heard  that  Major  Farmer,  who  proceeded  by 
Mississippi,  arrived  there  the  4th  of  December,  and  relieved  Captain 
Sterling."  This  was  at  Fort  Chartres.  Sir  William  proceeds — 

"  I  have  been  applied  to  by  the  merchants  of  Canada  concerning  a 
purchase  lately  made  by  Mr.  William  Grant  from  Monsieur  Rigaud,  and 
Madame  de  Vaudreuille,  of  the  fort  at  La  Baye  de  Puants,  in  Lake  Michi 
gan,  with  an  extensive  territory,  over  which  he  is  to  have  an  exclusive 
right  of  trade,  with  liberty  to  erect  houses  and  make  establishments 
thereon,  to  the  infinite  loss  and  detriment  of  the  trading  people,  and 
likewise  to  the  general  dissatisfaction  of  the  Indians,  who  cannot  fail 
being  greatly  alarmed  at  such  an  establishment  beyond  our  provincial 
limits. 

"This  grant  to  Mr.  Rigaud  and  his  lady  was  from  the  Marquis  de 
Vaudreuille,  in  October,  1759,  and  confirmed  by  the  King  of  France  in 
January,  1760,  at  a  very  critical  period,  when  Quebec  was  ours,  and 
Montreal  only  wanting  to  complete  the  conquest  of  Canada,  and  therefore 
evidently  intended  as  a  perquisite,  well  knowing  some  of  our  unwary 
people  might  be  drawn  in  to  give  a  valuable  consideration  for  it,  as  it 
would  be  highly  impolitic  for  them  to  make  such  a  grant  or  permit  such 
settlements  if  they  continued  masters  of  the  country,  since  it  would 
alienate  the  affections  of  the  Indians,  and  of  friends,  make  them  bitter 
enemies,  which  they  will  doubtless  prove  to  us,  if  the  '  grant'  is  attempted 
to  be  enforced. 

"These  considerations,  supported  by  the  request  of  the  traders  of 
Canada,  induce  me  to  lay  these  general  heads  before  your  lordships,"  &c. 

In  another  letter,  (London  Documents,  vol.  xl.  p.  230,)  Sir  William 
Johnson  writes  of  "  the  importance  of  re-establishing  the  post  of  La 
Baye,  and  of  Rigaud  de  Vaudreuille's  claim  j  some  steps  had  beea 
ordered  to  be  taken  to  render  it  invalid,"  &c. 


NOTE   C.— UNDER  BRITISH   DOMINION. 

This  same  Rigaud  de  Vaudreuille  commanded  an  army  of  about  nine 
hundred  French  and  Indians,  in  an  attack  on  Fort  Massachusetts,  in 
August,  174C.  Colonel  Hawks,  who  commanded  the  fort,  which  contained 
but  33  persons,  men,  women,  and  children,  and  was  badly  provided  with 
ammunition,  yet  defended  himself  28  hours,  and  then  offered  terms  of 
capitulation,  which  were  accepted.  (Holmes's  Annals,  vol.  ii.  32.) 


NOTE  C.     Page  138. 

The  following  extracts  from  Parkman's  "  History  of  the  Conspiracy  of 
Pontiac,"  chap.  17,  give  lucid  details  on  the  subject  of  Lieutenant  GorelPs 
command  at  Green  Bay,  deriving  their  authenticity  from  "  Gorell's  Manu 
script  Journal/7  deposited  in  the  library  of  the  Maryland  Historical 
Society,  and  other  reliable  sources. 

The  posts  of  Green  Bay  and  Sault  St.  Marie  did  not  share  the  fate 
of  Michillimakinac.  St.  Marie  had  been  partially  destroyed  by  fire  in 
the  preceding  winter,  and  had  been  abandoned ;  many  of  the  garrison 
had  retired  to  Mackinaw,  and  perished  there  in  the  massacre.  The  fort 
at  Green  Bay  had  received  an  English  garrison  in  1761,  consisting  of 
seventeen  men  commanded  by  Lieutenant  Gorell.  At  this  time  the  Meno- 
minees  lived  at  the  mouth  of  Fox  River,  close  to  the  fort.  The  Winne- 
bagoes  had  several  villages  on  the  Lake  Winnebago,  and  the  Sauks  and 
Foxes  were  established  at  a  large  village  on  the  Wisconsin  River.1 

"  The  English  commander  had  the  task  of  securing  the  peace  of  the 
surrounding  tribes,  and  to  regulate  the  fur  trade  among  them.  Much 
intercourse  existed  between  him  and  the  Indians,  as  he  appears  to  have 
conducted  himself  with  judgment  and  prudence.  Gorell  explained  to 
the  tribes  in  bold  and  decided  language  the  power  of  the  King  of  Eng 
land,  and  reproached  the  Menominees  with  their  having  taken  part  with 
France  in  the  late  war ;  threatened  them,  and  finally  obtained  the  good 
will  of  all. 

On  the  15th  of  June,  1763,  an  Ottawa  chief  brought  a  letter  to  Gorell 
from  Captain  Etherington. 

MICHILLIMACKINAC,  June  llth,  1763. 

Dear  Sir*— This  place  was  taken  by  surprise  on  the  fourth  instant  by 
the  Chippeways,  at  which  time  Lieutenant  Jamet  and  seventy  men  were 
killed  and  all  the  rest  taken  prisoners  ;  but  our  good  friends  the  Ottawas, 
have  taken  Lieutenant  Lesley,  me,  and  eleven  men  out  of  their  hands, 

i  Probably  Sauk  Prairie, 


352  NOTES  TO  CHAPTER  III. 

and  have  promised  to  reinstate  us  again.  You'll  therefore  on  the  receipt 
of  this,  which  I  send  by  a  canoe  of  Ottawas,  set  out  -with  all  your  garri 
son,  and  what  English  traders  you  have  "with  you,  and  come  with  the 
Indian  who  gives  you  this,  who  will  conduct  you  safe  to  me.  You  must 
be  sure  to  follow  the  instruction  you  receive  from  the  bearer  of  this,  as 
you  are  by  no  means  to  come  to  this  post  before  you  see  me  at  the  village 
twenty  miles  from  this.  *  *  I  must  once  more  beg  you'll  lose  no 

time  in  coming  to  join  me  ;  at  the  same  time  be  very  careful,  and  always 
be  on  your  guard.     I  long  much  to  see  you,  and  am,  dear  sir 
Your  most  humble  servant, 

GEO.  ETHERINGTONT. 
«7.  Gorell,  Royal  Americans. 

On  the  receipt  of  this  letter,  Gorell  summoned  a  council  of  the  Meno- 
minees,  told  them  what  the  Ojibwas  had  done,  and  that  he  and  his  soldiers 
were  going  to  Michillimackinac  to  restore  order ;  that  in  his  absence  he 
commended  the  fort  to  their  care.  Great  numbers  of  Winnebagoes,  and 
of  the  Sacs  and  Foxes  afterward  arrived,  to  whom  he  addressed  nearly 
the  same  words.  Presents  were  given  and  the  greater  part  of  the  Indiana 
appeared  well  disposed  to  the  English,  though  a  few  were  inclined  to 
prevent  their  departure,  and  even  to  threaten  hostility.  A  fortunate  in 
cident  occurred  at  this  time  ;  a  Dahcotah  chief  arrived  with  a  message 
from  his  people  to  this  effect:  that  they  had  heard  of  the  bad  conduct 
of  the  Ojibwas ;  they  hoped  that  the  tribes  of  Green  Bay  would  not  fol 
low  their  example,  but  on  the  contrary  protect  the  English  ;  unless  they 
did  so,  the  Dahcotah  would  fall  upon  them  and  take  ample  revenge.  This 
interference  must  doubtless  be  ascribed  to  the  hatred  with  which  the 
Dahcotahs  had  long  regarded  the  Ojibwas  ;  the  espousal  of  one  side  of 
the  quarrel  by  the  latter,  was  abundant  reason  to  the  Dahcotah  for  adopt 
ing  the  other.  Some  of  the  Green  Bay  Indians  were  also  at  enmity  with 
the  Ojibwas,  and  all  opposition  to  the  departure  of  the  English  ceased : 
some  of  the  more  friendly  offered  to  escort  the  garrison  on  its  way,  and 
on  the  26th  of  June,  Gorell's  party  embarked  in  several  batteaux,  accom 
panied  by  ninety  warriors  in  canoes.  Approaching  Beaver  Island  near 
the  mouth  of  Green  Bay,  an  alarm  was  given  that  the  Ojibwas  were  lying 
there  in  ambush  ;  on  which  the  Menomiriees  raised  the  war-song,  stripped 
themselves,  and  prepared  to  do  battle  in  behalf  of  the  English.  The 
alarm  proved  false,  and  having  crossed  Lake  Michigan  in  safety,  the 
party  arrived  at  L'Arbre  Croche  on  the  30th.  The  Ottawas  came  down 
to  the  beach  to  salute  them  with  a  discharge  of  guns,  and  on  landing 
they  were  presented  with  the  pipe  of  peace.  Captain  Etherington  and 
Lieutenant  Leslie  with  eleven  men  were  in  the  village,  detained  as  pri- 


NOTE  D.— UNDER  BRITISH  DOMINION.  353 

soners,  though  treated  with  kindness.  It  was  thought  that  the  Ottawas 
intended  to  disarm  the  party  of  Gorell  also,  but  the  latter  gave  out  that 
he  would  resist  such  an  attempt,  and  his  soldiers  were  permitted  to  retain 
their  weapons. 

Several  days  were  occupied  by  the  Indians  in  holding  councils.  Those 
from  Green  Bay  requested  the  Ottawas  to  set  their  prisoners  at  liberty, 
and  the  latter  at  length  assented.  On  the  18th  of  July,  the  English, 
escorted  by  a  fleet  of  Indian  canoes,  left  L'Arbre  Croche,  and  reaching 
•without  interruption  the  river  Ottawa,  descended  to  Montreal,  where  they 
arrived  on  the  13th  of  August.  Except  the  garrison  of  Detroit,  not  a 
British  soldier  now  remained  in  the  region  of  the  lakes. 


NOTE  D.     Page  139. 

The  post  of  Detroit  was  environed  by  three  rows  of  pickets  forming 
nearly  a  square.  At  each  corner  and  over  the  gates  there  were  erected 
"block-houses  ;  and  between  the  houses  and  pickets  there  was  a  circular 
space,  called  le  cliemin  du  ronde,  which  formed  a  place  of  deposit  for 
arms.  Anchored  on  the  river  in  front  of  the  town,  were  two  armed 
vessels,  one  called  the  Beaver,  for  the  purpose  of  its  defence ;  and  the 
fort  was  protected  by  three  mortars,  two  sis-pounders  and  one  three- 
pounder.  These,  however,  were  badly  mounted,  and  seemed  to  be  better 
calculated  to  terrify  the  Indians  than  for  substantial  defence.  In  the 
limits  of  the  town  there  were  also  about  forty-two  traders  and  persons 
connected  with  the  fur  trade,  who  were  provided  with  provisions  and 
arms,  besides  the  few  families  who  were  settled  within  the  palisade. 
Most  of  the  houses  were  enclosed  within  the  pickets,  for  the  purpose  of 
securing  them  by  the  protection  of  the  fort,  while  only  a  few  French 
farms  were  scattered  along  the  banks  of  the  river.  (Cass's  Historical 
Discourse.) 


NOTE  E.     Page  141. 

The  schemes  of  Pontiac  in  the  surprise  and  attack  on  the  post  of 
Michillimakinac,  and  other  forts,  were  not  so  successful  in  their  results 
at  Detroit ;  this  being  a  place  of  the  greatest  consequence,  and  well 
guarded,  required  great  resolution  and  consummate  art  to  overcome  its 
defences,  or  obtain  the  possession  of  it  by  stratagem.  Pontiac  took  the 

management  of  the   expedition  against  this  post  on  himself,  and  drew 
VOL.  I.— 23 


354  NOTES   TO   CHAPTER  III. 

near  it  with  the  principal  body  of  his  troops.  IIo  was  however  prevented 
from  carrying  his  designs  into  execution  by  an  apparently  trivial  and 
unforeseen  circumstance. 

Carver,  who  was  contemporaneous  with  the  events,  and  whose  account 
may  be  relied  on  as  accurate,  relates  as  follows  : — 

The  town  of  Detroit,  when  Pontiac  formed  his  plan,  was  garrisoned 
by  about  three  hundred  men,  commanded  by  Major  Gladwyn,  a  gallant 
officer.  As  at  that  time  every  appearance  of  war  was  at  an  end,  and 
the  Indians  seemed  to  be  on  a  friendly  footing,  Pontiac  approached  the 
fort  without  exciting  any  suspicions  in  the  breast  of  the  governor  or  the 
inhabitants.  lie  encamped  at  a  little  distance  from  it,  and  sent  to  let 
the  commandant  know  that  he  was  come  to  trade,  and,  being  desirous 
of  brightening  the  chain  of  peace  between  the  English  and  his  nation, 
desired  that  he  and  his  chiefs  might  be  admitted  to  hold  a  council  with 
him.  The  governor,  still  unsuspicious,  and  not  in  the  least  doubting  the 
sincerity  of  the  Indians,  granted  their  general's  request,  and  fixed  on, 
the  next  morning  for  their  reception. 

The  evening  of  that  day,  an  Indian  woman  who  had  been  employed 
by  Major  Gladwyn  to  make  him  a  pair  of  Indian  shoes,  out  of  curious 
elk-skin,  brought  them  home.  The  major  was  so  pleased  with  them,  that, 
intending  these  as  a  present  for  a  friend,  he  ordered  her  to  take  the  re 
mainder  back,  and  make  it  into  others  for  himself.  He  then  directed 
his  servant  to  pay  her  for  those  she  had  done,  and  dismissed  her.  The 
woman  went  to  the  door  that  led  to  the  street,  but  no  farther  ;  she  there 
loitered  about  as  if  she  had  not  finished  the  business  on  which  she  came. 
A  servant  at  length  observed  her,  and  asked  her  why  she  stayed  there ; 
she  gave  him,  however,  no  answer. 

Some  short  time  after,  the  governor  himself  saw  her,  and  inquired  of 
his  servant,  what  occasioned  her  stay.  Not  being  able  to  get  a  satisfac 
tory  answer,  he  ordered  the  woman  to  be  called  in.  When  she  came 
into  his  presence,  he  desired  to  know  what  was  the  reason  of  her  loiter 
ing  about,  and  not  hastening  home  before  the  gates  were  shut,  that  sho 
might  complete  in  due  time  the  work  he  had  given  her  to  do.  She  told 
him,  after  much  hesitation,  that  as  he  had  always  behaved  with  great 
goodness  toward  her,  she  was  unwilling  to  take  away  the  remainder  of 
the  skin,  because  he  put  so  great  a  value  upon  it ;  and  yet  had  not  been 
able  to  prevail  upon  herself  to  tell  him  so.  lie  then  asked  her,  why  she 
was  more  reluctant  to  do  so  now,  than  she  had  been  when  she  made  the 
former  pair.  With  increased  reluctance  she  answered,  that  she  never 
should  be  able  to  bring  them  back. 

His  curiosity  being  now  excited,  he  insisted  on  her  disclosing  to  him 
the  secret  that  seemed  to  be  struggling  in  her  bosom  for  utterance.  At 


NOTE  E.— PONTIAC'S   WAR.  355 

last,  on  receiving  a  promise  that  the  intelligence  she  was  about  to  give 
him  should  not  turn  to  her  prejudice,  and  that  if  it  appeared  to  be  bene 
ficial  she  should  be  rewarded  for  it,  she  informed  him,  that  at  the  council 
to  be  held  with  the  Indians  the  following  day,  Pontiac  and  his  chiefs  in 
tended  to  murder  him  ;  and  after  having  massacred  the  garrison  and 
inhabitants,  to  plunder  the  town.  That  for  this  purpose  all  the  chiefs 
who  were  to  be  admitted  into  the  council-room,  had  cut  their  guns  short, 
BO  that  they  could  conceal  them  under  their  blankets  ;  with  which,  at  a 
signal  given  by  their  general,  on  delivering  the  belt,  they  were  all  tp 
rise  up,  and  instantly  to  fire  on  him  and  his  attendants.  Having  effected 
this,  they  were  immediately  to  rush  into  the  town,  where  they  woul$ 
find  themselves  supported  by  a  great  number  of  their  warriors,  that 
were  to  come  into  it  during  the  sitting  of  the  council,  under  pretence  of 
trading,  but  privately  armed  in  the  same  manner.  Having  gained  from 
the  woman  every  necessary  particular  relative  to  the  plot,  and  also  the 
means  by  which  she  acquired  a  knowledge  of  them,  he  dismissed  her 
with  injunctions  of  secrecy,  and  a  promise  of  fulfilling  on  his  part  with 
punctuality  the  engagements  he  had  entered  into. 

The  intelligence  the  governor  had  just  received,  gave  him  great  uneasi 
ness  ;  and  he  immediately  consulted  the  officer  who  was  next  to  him  in 
command,  on  the  subject.  But  that  gentleman  considering  the  informa 
tion  as  a  story  invented  for  some  artful  purposes,  advised  him  to  pay  no 
attention  to  it.  This  conclusion,  however,  had  happily  no  weight  with 
him.  He  thought  it  prudent  to  conclude  it  to  be  true,  till  he  was  con 
vinced  that  it  was  not  so  ;  and  therefore  without  revealing  his  suspicions 
to  any  other  person,  he  took  every  needful  precaution  that  the  time 
would  admit  of.  He  walked  round  the  fort  during  the  whole  night,  and 
saw  himself  that  every  sentinel  was  on  duty,  and  every  weapon  of  de 
fence  in  proper  order. 

As  he  traversed  the  ramparts  which  lay  nearest  to  the  Indian  camp, 
he  heard  them  in  high  festivity,  and,  little  imagining  that  their  plot  was 
discovered,  probably  pleasing  themselves  with  the  anticipation  of  their 
success.  As  soon  as  the  morning  dawned,  he  ordered  all  the  garrison 
under  arms ;  and  then  imparting  his  apprehensions  to  a  few  of  the  prin 
cipal  officers,  gave  them  such  directions  as  he  thought  necessary.  At 
the  same  time  he  sent  round  to  all  the  traders,  to  inform  them,  that  as 
it  was  expected  a  great  number  of  Indians  would  enter  the  town  that 
day,  who  might  be  inclined  to  plunder,  he  desired  they  would  have  their 
arms  ready,  and  repel  every  attempt  of  that  kind. 

,  About  ten  o'clock,  Pontiac  and  his  chiefs  arrived,  and  were  conducted 
to  the  council-chamber,  where  the  governor  and  his  principal  officers, 
each  with  pistols  in  their  belts,  awaited  his  arrival.  As  the  Indians 


356  NOTES   TO  CHAPTER   III. 

passed  on,  they  could  not  help  observing  that  a  greater  number  of  troops 
than  usual  were  drawn  up  on  the  parade,  or  marching  about.  No 
sooner  were  they  entered,  and  seated  on  the  skins  prepared  for  them, 
than  Pontiac  asked  the  governor  on  what  occasion  his  young  men,  mean 
ing  the  soldiers,  were  thus  drawn  up  and  parading  the  streets.  He 
received  for  answer,  that  it  was  only  intended  to  keep  them  perfect  in. 
their  exercise. 

The  Indian  chief-warrior  now  began  his  speech,  which  contained  the 
strongest  professions  of  friendship  and  good-will  toward  the  English ; 
and  when  he  came  to  the  delivery  of  the  belt  of  wampum,  the  particular 
mode  of  which,  according  to  the  woman's  information,  was  to  be  the 
signal  for  his  chiefs  to  fire,  the  governor  and  all  his  attendants  drew 
their  swords  halfway  out  of  their  scabbards ;  and  the  soldiers  at  the 
same  instant  made  a  clattering  with  their  arms  before  the  doors,  which 
had  been  purposely  left  open.  Pontiac,  though  one  of  the  boldest  of 
men,  immediately  turned  pale  and  trembled;  and  instead  of  giving  the 
belt  in  the  manner  proposed,  delivered  it  according  to  the  usual  way. 
His  chiefs,  who  had  impatiently  expected  the  signal,  looked  at  each 
other  with  astonishment,  but  continued  quiet,  waiting  the  result. 

The  governor  in  his  turn  made  a  speech  ;  but  instead  of  thanking  the 
great  warrior  for  the  professions  of  friendship  he  had  just  uttered,  he 
accused  him  of  being  a  traitor.  He  told  him  that  the  English,  who  knew 
every  thing,  were  convinced  of  his  treachery  and  villanous  designs ; 
and  as  a  proof  that  they  were  well  acquainted  with  his  most  secret 
thoughts  and  intentions,  he  stepped  toward  the  Indian  chief  that  safe 
nearest  to  him,  and  drawing  aside  his  blanket,  discovered  the  shortened 
firelock.  This  entirely  disconcerted  the  Indians  and  frustrated  their 
design. 

He  then  continued  to  tell  them,  that  as  he  had  given  his  word,  at  the 
time  they  desired  an  audience,  that  their  persons  should  be  safe,  he 
would  hold  his  promise  inviolable,  though  they  so  little  deserved  it. 
However,  he  advised  them  to  make  the  best  of  their  way  out  of  the  fort, 
lest  his  young  men,  on  being  acquainted  with  their  treacherous  purposes, 
should  cut  every  one  of  them  to  pieces.  Pontiac  endeavoured  to  con 
tradict  the  accusation,  and  to  make  excuses  for  his  suspicious  conduct ; 
but  the  governor,  satisfied  of  the  falsity  of  his  protestations,  would  not 
listen  to  him.  The  Indians  immediately  left  the  fort,  but  instead  of  be 
ing  sensible  of  the  governor's  generous  behaviour,  they  threw  off  the 
mask,  and  the  next  day  made  a  regular  attack  upon  it. 

Major  Gladwyn  has  not  escaped  censure  for  this  mistaken  lenity ;  for 
probably,  had  he  kept  a  few  of  the  principal  chiefs  prisoners,  while  he 
had  them  in  his  power,  he  might  have  been  able  to  have  brought  the 


NOTE  E.— SIEGE   OF  DETROIT,  357 

•whole  confederacy  to  terms,  and  have  prevented  a  war.  But  he  atoned 
for  this  oversight,  by  the  gallant  defence  he  made  for  more  than  a  year, 
amid  a  variety  of  discouragements.  (Carver's  Travels.) 


Prom  the  Historical  Discourse  of  Governor  Cass,  and  Lanman's  History 
of  Michigan  and  authorities  therein  cited,  the  following  note  has  been  com 
piled,  as  exhibiting  an  interesting  and  authentic  account  of  some  promi 
nent  events  during  the  siege  of  Detroit  by  Pontiac. 

At  the  commencement  of  the  siege,  so  weak  did  the  commandant  con 
sider  his  own  position,  that  he  had  nearly  determined  to  evacuate  the 
fort,  embark  in  the  armed  schooner  on  the  river,  and  retire  to  Niagara, 
as  he  feared  a  direct  assault ;  but  he  was  assured  by  the  French  inhabit 
ants  that  such  a  course  would  not  be  undertaken  by  the  Indians,  and 
he  gave  up  the  project.  Measures  were  immediately  taken  to  burn  the 
buildings  which  could  furnish  covert  to  the  Indians,  by  hot  shot,  and 
occasional  sorties  from  the  fort.  Shells  were  discharged,  and  the  Indians 
practised  running  toward  these  shells,  and  blowing  out  the  matches  be 
fore  they  had  exploded,  with  exulting  yells.  The  wilderness  poured  forth 
its  ferocious  bands  of  savages,  like  vultures  around  the  dead.  Pontiac, 
although  he  was  the  chief  actor  in  this  siege,  was  aided  by  several  Chip- 
pewa  and  Ottawa  warriors,  who  maintained  a  subordinate  part.  Among 
these  were  Mahigam,  the  wolf ;  Wabanamy,  the  white  sturgeon  ;  Kitta- 
coinsi,  he  that  climbs ;  Agouchiois,  a  friend  to  the  French,  all  of  the 
Ottawa  tribe  ;  and  also  Gayashque,  Wasson,  Macataywasson,  and  Pash- 
quior,  Chippewa  chiefs.  When  the  buildings  around  the  fort  had  been 
demolished,  the  Indians  approached  a  low  ridge  which  overlooked  the 
pickets,  and  from  this  they  kept  up  a  fire  upon  the  garrison. 

During  the  Pontiac  war,  Detroit  was  stored  with  a  large  quantity  of 
yaluable  goods,  alleged  to  amount  to  the  value  of  five  hundred  thousand 
pounds  ;  and  in  addition  to  that,  its  demolition  would  unite  the  chain  of 
operation  among  the  Indians,  which  was  broken  by  the  establishment  of 
the  English  at  that  post.  Its  actual  position  during  the  siege  may  be 
inferred  from  the  following  letter,  dated  Detroit,  July  6th,  1763  : — 

"We  have  been  besieged  here  two  months  by  six  hundred  Indians. 
We  have  been  upon  the  watch  night  and  day,  from  the  commanding 
officer  to  the  lowest  soldier,  from  the  8th  of  May  ;  and  have  not  had  our 
cloaks  off,  nor  slept  all  night  since  it  began,  and  shall  continue  so  till  we 
have  a  reinforcement  up.  We  then  hope  to  give  a  good  account  of  the 
savages.  Their  camp  lies  about  a  mile  and  a  half  from  the  fort ;  and 
that  is  the  nearest  they  choose  to  come  now.  For  the  first  two  or  three 
days  we  were  attacked  by  three  or  four  hundred  of  them,  but  we  gave 


358  NOTES  TO  CHAPTER  III. 

them  so  warm  a  reception,  that  they  don't  care  for  coming  to  see  us  ; 
though  they  now  and  then  get  behind  a  house  or  garden,  and  fire  at  us 
about  three  or  four  hundred  yards  distance.  The  day  before  yesterday 
we  killed  a  chief  and  three  others,  and  wounded  some  more.  Yesterday 
went  up  with  our  sloop,  and  battered  their  cabins  in  such  a  manner  that 
they  are  glad  to  keep  farther  off." 

The  following  letter  is  dated  the  9th  of  July  :— 

"  You  have  long  ago  heard  of  our  pleasant  situation,  but  the  storm  is 
blown  over.  Was  it  not  very  agreeable  to  hear  every  day  of  their  cutting, 
carving,  boiling,  and  eating  our  companions  ?  To  see  every  day,  dead 
bodies  floating  down  the  river  mangled  and  disfigured.  But  Britons,  you 
know,  never  shrink.  We  always  appeared  gay,  to  spite  the  rascals.  They 
boiled  and  eat  Sir  Robert  Devers ;  and  we  are  informed  by  Mr.  Pauli, 
who  escaped  the  other  day  from  one  of  the  stations  surprised  at  the  break 
ing  out  of  the  war,  and  commanded  by  himself,  that  he  had  seen  an 
Indian  have  the  skin  of  Captain  Robertson's  arm  for  a  tobacco-pouch. 

"  Three  days  ago  a  party  of  us  went  to  demolish  a  breastwork  they  had 
made.  We  finished  our  work  and  were  returning  home  ;  but  the  fort 
espying  a  party  of  Indians  coming  up  as  if  they  intended  to  fight,  we 
were  ordered  back,  made  our  dispositions  and  advanced  briskly.  Our 
front  was  fired  upon  warmly,  and  returned  the  fire  for  about  five  minutes. 
In  the  mean  time,  Captain  Hopkins,  with  about  twenty  men  filed  off  to 
the  left,  and  about  twenty  French  volunteers  filed  off  to  the  right,  and  got 
between  them  and  their  fires.  The  villains  immediately  fled,  and  we 
returned,  as  was  prudent,  for  a  sentry  whom  I  had  placed,  informed  me 
he  saw  a  body  of  them  coming  down  from  the  woods  ;  and  our  party  be 
ing  but  about  eighty,  was  not  able  to  cope  with  their  united  bands.  In 
short,  we  beat  them  handsomely,  and  yet  did  not  much  hurt  to  them,  for 
they  ran  extremely  well.  We  only  killed  their  leader,  and  wounded  three 
ethers.  One  of  them  fired  at  me,  at  the  distance  of  fifteen  or  twenty 
paces,  but  I  suppose  my  terrible  visage  made  him  tremble.  I  think  I 
shot  him." 

All  the  means  which  the  savage  mind  could  suggest,  were  employed 
by  Pontiac  to  demolish  the  settlement  .of  Detroit.  Blazing  arrows  were 
shot  into  the  chapel  by  his  warriors,  for  the  purpose  of  burning  it,  and 
this  would  have  been  effected,  had  not  a  French  Jesuit  convinced  Pontiac 
that  its  conflagration  would  call  down  the  judgments  of  the  Great  Spirit. 
During  the  siege  the  savages  endeavoured  to  make  a  breach  in  the  pickets, 
and  aided  by  Gladwyn,  who,  as  a  stratagem,  had  ordered  his  men  to  cut 
also  on  the  inside ;  this  was  soon  accomplished,  and  the  breach  was  soon 
filled  with  Indians.  At  this  instant  a  brass  four-pounder  was  discharged 


NOTE  E.— SIEGE   OF  DETROIT.  359 

upon  the  advancing  savages,  which  made  a  destructive  havoc.  After 
that  period  the  fort  was  merely  invested  ;  supplies  were  cut  off,  and  the 
English  were  reduced  to  great  distress  from  the  diminution  of  their 
rations. 

Major  Rogers  had  given  the  command  of  the  Fort  of  Detroit  to  Major 
Campbell,  and  he  had  held  it  since  the  surrender  of  the  country,  although 
he  had  been  once  superseded.  This  officer  was  well  known  to  the  Indians, 
and  was  esteemed  for  his  kindness  both  by  the  French  and  savages.  It 
was  made  a  point  of  policy  by  Pontiac  to  get  this  officer  into  his  posses 
sion,  as  a  pledge  for  the  surrender  of  the  fort ;  and  for  that  object  he 
requested  some  of  the  principal  French  inhabitants  to  seek  an  interview 
with  Major  Campbell,  and  inform  him  that  Pontiac  wished  him  to  come 
to  his  camp,  in  order  that  they  might  terminate  the  war  and  smoke  the 
pipe  of  peace.  Godfrey  and  Chapoton,  two  estimable  French  citizens, 
advised  this  interview,  on  the  solemn  promise  by  Pontiac  that  he  should 
return  to  the  fort  in  safety.  In  order  to  bring  the  war  to  a  peaceful  ter 
mination,  if  possible,  he  consented  ;  and  accompanied  by  Lieutenant 
McDougall,  he  repaired  to  the  Indian  quarters,  and  was  at  first  well  re 
ceived.  The  crafty  chief,  however,  did  not  comply  with  his  promise,  and 
the  English  officers  were  at  length  detained  at  the  house  of  M.  Melvehi, 
near  Bloody  Bridge.  Campbell  was  offered  his  life  for  the  surrender  of 
the  fort,  but  the  unprincipled  conduct  which  Pontiac  had  before  mani 
fested,  weakened  all  confidence  in  his  word.  The  prisoners  were  per 
mitted  to  walk  out  from  time  to  time,  but  little  chance  seemed  offered 
for  escape,  as  they  were  surrounded  by  Indians.  Lieutenant  McDougall 
proposed  to  attempt  it,  but  as  his  sight  was  somewhat  affected,  Campbell 
declined  the  proposition.  McDougall,  however,  afterward  made  his  escape 
and  reached  the  Fort  of  Detroit  without  injury.  The  fate  of  Major 
Campbell  was  of  unfortunate  termination.  An  Ottawa  chief  of  note  had 
been  killed  at  Michillimackinac,  and  his  nephew,  who  was  in  that  siege, 
had  hastened  for  revenge  to  Bloody  Bridge.  Here  he  found  Major  Camp 
bell,  and  immediately  despatched  him  with  his  tomahawk,  and  the  savage 
then  fled  to  Saginaw  to  escape  the  vengeance  of  Pontiac,  who  was  justly 
indignant  at  this  act. 

While  the  siege  was  in  progress,  and  on  the  21st  of  May,  the  smaller 
vessel  which  had  been  anchored  in  the  river  was  despatched  to  Niagara 
to  hasten  the  arrival  of  a  reinforcement  with  arms  and  provisions,  which 
had  been  expected.  Twenty  batteaux,  which  had  been  sent  from  that 
place  with  a  detachment  of  troops  and  army  stores,  arrived  at  Point  Pelee, 
apprehending  no  danger,  and  there  they  encamped.  The  detachment 
consisted  of  Green's  Rangers,  amounting  to  ninety-seven  men,  with  Lieu 
tenant  Cuyler.  Tho  Indians  who  were  stationed  at  that  place  had 


360  NOTES   TO  CHAPTER  III. 

watched  their  movements,  and  had  marked  their  place  of  encampment, 
and  about  the  dawn  of  day  they  were  attacked  and  massacred.  All  the 
men  in  this  expedition  were  either  taken  or  killed,  excepting  one  officer, 
who  rushed  to  a  boat  with  thirty  men,  and  crossed  Lake  Erie  to  Sandusky 
Bay.  These  barges  were  guarded  by  the  Indians,  who  compelled  the 
British  prisoners  to  navigate  the  boats,  while  they  were  escorted  toward 
Detroit  by  the  Indians  on  the  Canadian  bank  of  the  river.  When  they 
arrived  near  the  fort,  four  British  soldiers  in  the  first  batteau  determined 
to  effect  their  liberation  or  die  in  the  attempt ;  and  by  suddenly  changing 
the  course  of  the  boat,  they  made  their  intentions  known  to  the  crew  of 
the  armed  schooner  near  the  shore  by  loud  cries.  The  Indian  guards  on 
board  this  boat  leaped  overboard,  and  one  of  them  dragged  a  soldier  with 
him  into  the  water,  where  they  were  both  drowned.  The  fugitives  in  their 
escape  were  fired  upon  by  the  Indians  in  the  other  boats,  and  also  by 
those  on  the  bank ;  but  no  injury  was  done  excepting  the  wounding  of 
one  soldier,  as  the  Indians  were  soon  dispersed  by  the  fire  from  the  armed 
schooner  on  the  Detroit  side.  The  other  soldiers  escaped  to  the  shore  in 
the  boat,  which  soon  reached  the  vessel.  In  order  to  prevent  their  escape, 
the  remaining  prisoners  were  immediately  landed  and  marched  up  to 
Hog  Island,  where  they  were  massacred  and  scalped.  On  the  30th  of 
May  the  sentinel  had  first  announced  that  the  fleets  of  boats  was  coming 
round  the  point  of  the  Huron  church,  and  the  English  had  assembled  on 
the  ramparts  to  witness  the  arrival  of  their  friends ;  but  they  were  only 
greeted  by  the  death-song  of  the  savages,  which  announced  their  death. 
The  light  of  hope  flickered  on  their  countenance,  only  to  be  clouded  with 
the  thick  darkness  of  despair.  It  was  these  barges ;  but  they  were  in 
possession  of  the  savages,  and  filled  with  the  scalps,  and  prisoners  of  the 
English  detachment. 

During  the  siege,  the  body  of  the  French  people  maintained  a  neutral 
relation  toward  the  Indians  and  the  English,  although  a  few  Canadians 
had  aided  their  cause,  who  were  held  in  contempt  by  their  countrymen. 
They  had  taken  the  oath  of  allegiance,  and  were  prisoners  of  war  under 
capitulation.  This  neutrality  was  necessary  to  be  preserved,  unless  they 
chose  to  place  themselves  in  the  attitude  of  revolution.  The  fact  that 
they  did  not  take  side  with  the  Indians,  roused  a  feeling  of  disaffection  in 
the  minds  of  the  savages  ;  and  their  doors  were  broken  open,  their  pro 
visions  plundered,  and  their  cattle  killed  by  the  forces  of  Pontiac.  Some 
remuneration  was,  however,  subsequently  made  by  the  Ottawa,  in  levying 
upon  the  French  for  his  supplies.  He  appointed  a  commissary,  and 
issued  bills  of  credit  made  of  bark,  with  an  otter,  the  totem  of  his  tribe, 
drawn  upon  them,  and  delivered  these  to  the  French  people.  These  bills, 
when  payable,  were  faithfully  redeemed. 


NOTE   B.— SIEGE   OF   DETROIT. 

But  the  Indians  soon  discovered  that  their  power  was  insufficient  for 
the  reduction  of  the  Fort  of  Detroit,  and  they  were  anxious  to  form  a 
league  with  the  French  for  that  object.  Pontiac  therefore  called  a  coun 
cil  of  his  warriors  and  the  principal  French  inhabitants  near  Detroit,  on 
the  23d  of  May,  1763,  and  addressed  to  them  the  following  speech : — 

"My  brothers,"  (these  were  his  words,)  "I  have  no  doubt  but  this 
war  is  very  troublesome  to  you,  and  that  my  warriors,  who  are  continu 
ally  passing  and  repassing  through  your  settlements,  frequently  kill  your 
cattle  and  injure  your  property.  I  am  sorry  for  it ;  and  hope  you  do  not 
think  I  am  pleased  with  this  conduct  of  my  young  men.  And  as  a  proof 
of  my  friendship,  recollect  the  war  you  had  seventeen  years  ago  (1746) 
and  the  part  I  took  in  it.  The  northern  nations  combined  together,  and 
came  to  destroy  you.  Who  defended  you?  Was  it  not  myself  and  my 
young  men?  The  great  chief  Mackinac  (the  turtle)  said  in  council,  that 
he  would  carry  to  his  native  village  the  head  of  your  chief  warrior,  and 
that  he  would  eat  his  heart  and  drink  his  blood.  Did  I  not  then  join 
you,  and  go  to  his  camp  and  say  to  him,  if  he  wished  to  kill  the  French, 
he  must  pass  over  my  body  and  the  bodies  of  my  young  men  ?  Did  I 
not  take  hold  of  the  tomahawk  with  you,  aid  you  in  fighting  your  battles 
with  Mackinac,  and  driving  him  home  to  his  country  ?  Why  do  you 
think  I  would  turn  my  arms  against  you  ?  Am  I  not  the  same  French 
Pontiac  who  assisted  you  seventeen  years  ago  ?  I  am  a  Frenchman,  and 
I  wish  to  die  a  Frenchman. 

"  My  brothers,"  said  Pontiac,  throwing  a  war-belt  into  the  midst  of 
the  council,  "I  begin  to  grow  tired  of  this  bad  meat  which  is  upon  our 
lands.  I  begin  to  see  that  this  is  not  your  case  ;  for  instead  of  assisting 
us  in  our  war  with  the  English,  you  are  actually  assisting  them.  I  have 
already  told  you,  and  I  now  tell  you  again,  that  when  I  undertook  this 
•war,  it  was  only  your  interest  I  sought,  and  that  I  knew  what  I  was 
about.  This  year  they  must  all  perish.  The  Master  of  life  so  orders  it. 
His  will  is  known  to  us,  and  we  must  do  as  he  says.  And  you,  my 
brothers,  who  know  him  better  than  we  do,  wish  to  oppose  his  will !  Until 
now,  I  have  avoided  urging  upon  you  this  subject,  in  the  hope  that  if 
you  could  not  aid,  you  would  not  injure  us.  I  did  not  wish  to  ask  you 
to  fight  with  us  against  the  English,  and  I  did  not  believe  you  would 
take  part  with  them.  You  will  say  you  are  not  with  them.  I  know  it ; 
but  your  conduct  amounts  to  the  same  thing.  You  will  tell  them  all  we 
do  and  say.  You  carry  our  counsels  and  plans  to  them.  Now,  take 
your  choice.  You  must  be  entirely  French  like  ourselves,  or  entirely 
English.  If  you  are  French,  take  this  belt  for  yourselves  and  your  young 
men,  and  join  us.  If  you  are  English,  we  declare  war  against  you/' 
His  solicitations,  however,  did  not  prevail ;  and  the  French  continued 


362  NOTES   TO   CHAPTER   III. 

steadfast  in  their  neutrality.  Many  were,  however,  in  the  confidence  of 
the  Indians ;  and  a  French  citizen,  M.  Beaufait,  had  been  shewn  the 
shortened  rifle,  and  informed  of  the  plot,  on  the  morning  in  which  it  was 
to  be  executed,  by  one  of  the  warriors,  the  last  in  the  party  of  Pontiac, 
and  a  particular  friend  whom  he  had  met  with  the  band,  during  that 
morning  upon  Bloody  Bridge.  But  the  news  arrived  on  the  3d  of  June, 
of  the  treaty  of  peace  of  1763,  by  which  the  country  was  ceded  to  Eng 
land,  and  thus  furnished  a  double  bond  to  maintain  their  neutrality. 
When,  therefore,  Pontiac  solicited  them  to  join  his  cause  against  the 
English,  one  of  the  principal  citizens  was  authorized  to  speak  in  the 
name  of  that  people.  Exhibiting  the  articles  of  peace  between  the 
French  and  the  British  governments,  he  replied,  "My  brother,  you  see 
that  our  arms  are  tied  by  our  great  father,  the  king ;  untie  this  knot,  and 
•we  will  join  you.  Till  that  is  done,  we  shall  sit  quietly  upon  our  mats." 

About  this  time  the  vessel  which  had  been  despatched  to  Niagara, 
arrived  at  the  mouth  of  the  Detroit  River,  with  sixty  troops,  and  sup 
plied  with  provisions  and  arms.  The  Indians  had  made  every  attempt 
to  capture  this  vessel,  which  had  been  impeded  from  sailing  up  the  river 
by  the  course  of  the  wind.  For  the  purpose  of  boarding  her  as  she  as 
cended,  the  forces  of  Pontiac  left  the  siege  of  Detroit,  and  repaired  to 
Fighting  Island,  which  is  just  below  the  city.  At  the  mouth  of  the  river 
the  Indians  had  annoyed  her  in  their  canoes,  but  she  soon  left,  under  a 
brisk  wind,  and  reached  the  point  of  that  island,  where  it  failed,  and 
she  was  there  obliged  to  anchor.  For  the  purpose  of  concealing  the 
strength  of  the  vessel,  the  captain  had  concealed  his  men  in  the  hold ; 
and  as  soon  as  evening  came  on,  the  Indians  proceeded  in  silence  to 
board  the  vessel  from  their  canoes,  while  the  men  on  board  were  secretly 
ordered  up  to  take  their  stations  at  the  guns.  The  Indians  approached 
near  the  side,  when  the  signal  for  a  discharge  was  given  by  a  blow  upon 
the  mast  with  a  hammer.  The  power  of  the  discharge  killed  and 
•wounded  many,  the  rest  escaped  in  their  canoes  ;  and  on  thef  next  morn 
ing  the  vessel  dropped  down  the  river,  and  remained  six  days  waiting 
for  a  fair  wind.  On  the  30th  (June)  she  arrived  without  accident,  at 
Detroit. 

It  now  became  an  important  object  with  Pontiac  to  destroy  the  vessels 
which  were  anchored  before  the  town  of  Detroit,  because  they  tended  to 
protect  the  shore,  and  also  furnished  means  of  communication  by  water 
to  the  other  English  posts  on  the  lakes.  For  that  purpose  the  barns  of 
many  of  the  inhabitants  were  torn  down,  and  the  materials  made  into  a 
raft,  filled  with  pitch  and  other  combustibles,  which  should  burn  with 
great  rapidity  and  intenseness.  The  whole  mass  was  then  towed  up  the 
river,  and  fire  was  added,  under  the  supposition  that  the  stream  would 


NOTE  E.-SIEGE   OP   DETROIT.  363 

carry  it  down  in  contact,  and  set  fire  to  the  vessels.  The  attempt  was 
made,  but  without  success.  The  English,  aware  of  this  attempt,  had 
anchored  boats  above  the  vessels,  connected  by  chains,  so  as  to  ward  off 
this  blazing  mass.  The  plan  was  successful,  and  the  burning  rafts 
floated  down  the  river  without  doing  any  damage. 

On  the  29th  of  July,  a  fleet  of  gun-boats  sailed  up  the  Detroit  River, 
«ach  containing  four  swivels,  two  mortars,  and  the  whole,  a  detachment 
of  three  hundred  regular  troops  under  the  command  of  Captain  Dalyell, 
an  aid-de-camp  of  Sir  Jeffrey  Amherst,  the  commander-in-chief  of  the 
British  forces  in  Canada.  "When  this  fleet  appeared  in  sight,  a  gun  was 
fired  from  the  fort,  and  it  was  answered  from  the  boats.  They  soon  ar 
rived  in  safety.  Supposing  that  Pontiac  might  be  surprised  in  his  camp, 
a  plan  was  concerted  on  that  evening  to  march  against  him  for  that  ob 
ject.  Accordingly,  on  the  morning  of  the  31st  of  July,  about  two  o'clock, 
Captain  Dalyell,  with  a  force  of  about  two  hundred  and  forty-seven  men, 
inarched  up,  two  deep,  along  the  Detroit  River  toward  Pontiac's  camp ; 
•while  two  gun-boats  in  the  river  were  pushed  against  the  stream  to  cover 
the  retreat  and  take  off  the  wounded  and  the  dead.  Information  of  this 
contemplated  attack  had  been  in  some  mode  communicated  to  the  In 
dians,  and  they  removed  their  women  and  children,  and  prepared  for 
the  reception  of  the  British  troops.  A  party  of  warriors  was  stationed 
behind  the  pickets  upon  a  neighbouring  farm,  (M.  Dequindre's,)  and 
another  at  Bloody  Bridge,  which  is  about  a  mile  and  a  half  from  Detroit, 
on  the  main  road.  Here  they  were  concealed  in  the  high  grass,  behind 
pickets  and  heaps  of  cord-wood.  The  British  party  had  reached  the 
bridge,  when  a  sudden  and  destructive  fire  was  poured  upon  them  from 
the  cord-wood  and  the  grass.  This  threw  them  into  the  utmost  confu 
sion.  The  attack  in  the  darkness,  from  an  invisible  force,  was  critical. 
At  the  first  fire,  Captain  Dalyell  fell.  The  British  fought  with  despera 
tion,  but  were  attacked  on  all  sides,  and  a  vigorous  charge  was  made  bj 
the  bayonet  upon  the  positions  of  the  Indians  ;  but  a  scattering  fire  was 
kept  up  by  the  savages  from  every  place  that  could  furnish  them  a  cover. 
At  length,  finding  that  their  situation  was  perilous,  the  British  were  or 
dered  to  retire,  which  was  effected  without  serious  loss  in  this  manoeuvre, 
under  the  direction  of  Captain  Grant,  aided  by  that  energetic  and  patri 
otic  officer,  Major  Rogers.  This  retreat  was  covered  on  the  shore  of  the 
Detroit  River  by  the  armed  gun-boats ;  and  the  whole  party  arrived  at 
the  fort  about  eight  o'clock.  It  was  only  effected,  however,  by  driving 
the  Indians  from  house  to  house,  and  field  to  field,  until  a  line  of  defence 
could  be  made  toward  the  fort.  In  this  action,  according  to  the  official 
returns,  there  were  nineteen  killed  and  forty-two  wounded.  The  place 
of  its  occurrence  is  called  Bloody  Bridge. 


364:  NOTES   TO   CHAPTER  III, 

The  whole  number  of  troops  lost  during  the  siege  of  Detroit  was  but 
little  short  of  three  hundred,  besides  individuals  unconnected  with  the 
army ;  the  exact  number,  however,  has  never  been  correctly  ascertained. 

The  Indians  had  appeared  before  the  post  on  the  8th  of  May ;  their 
force  was  seldom  less  than  one  thousand  men,  and  the  siege,  with  innu 
merable  attacks,  was  continued  until  the  last  of  August,  and,  with  occa 
sional  relaxations  only,  from  that  time  until  next  spring,  altogether 
about  twelve  months.  After  the  last  of  August,  many  of  the  allies  and 
warriors  of  Pontiac,  wearied  with  the  toil  and  privations  of  the  siege 
retired  to  their  towns  and  families. 

In  the  mean  while  the  operations  of  Pontiac  in  this  region  called  for 
efficient  aid  on  the  part  of  the  British  government:  accordingly,  early  in 
the  spring  of  1764,  active  preparations  were  in  operation  throughout  the 
provinces  for  the  chastisement  of  the  hostile  Indians,  and  for  the  protec 
tion  of  the  frontiers  from  the  merciless  fury  of  savage  warfare.  Troops 
were  fast  concentrating  upon  the  remote  posts  near  the  lakes,  and  upon, 
the  Ohio  region.  Early  in  June,  1764,  General  Bradstreet,  with  three 
thousand  troops,  reached  Niagara  on  his  route  to  reinforce  the  garrisons 
in  the  western  posts.  Overtures  for  peace  having  been  made  by  the  In 
dians  of  the  Northwest,  the  general  demanded  of  them  a  grand  council, 
to  confirm  their  professions  of  amity.  At  length  nearly  two  thousand 
Indians  were  assembled  at  Fort  Niagara,  and  among  them  were  repre 
sentatives  and  chiefs  from  twenty-two  nations,  and  embracing  those  from 
eleven  of  the  remote  Northwestern  tribes.  A  treaty  was  soon  after  con 
cluded  between  his  Majesty's  Superintendent  of  Indian  Aflairs,  Sir  Wil 
liam  Johnson,  on  the  part  of  Great  Britain,  and  the  chiefs,  sachems, 
and  warriors  of  the  respective  tribes.  The  treaty  stipulates  for  peace 
and  friendship,  and  a  cession  of  certain  lands  to  Great  Britain,  lying 
south  of  Lakes  Ontario  and  Erie ;  but  Pontiac  was  not  there,  nor  would 
he  sanction  the  treaty. 

General  Bradstreet  at  length,  (having  narrowly  escaped  shipwreck 
with  his  whole  army  on  Lake  Erie,  off  the  present  city  of  Cleveland,) 
arrived  safely  at  Detroit.  After  making  several  incursions  against  hos 
tile  towns,  and  chastising  several  bands  of  Indians  who  were  opposed  to 
the  late  treaty,  he  received  overtures  of  peace  from  them.  Negotiations 
for  a  truce  were  opened,  which  soon  after  resulted  in  a  peace  with  all 
the  Northwestern  tribes,  except  the  Shawanese  and  Delawares  of  the 
Scioto.  Pontiac  would  take  no  part  in  the  treaty,  and  remained  adverse 
to  peace.  He  retired  to  the  Illinois,  where  he  was  assassinated  about 
the  year  1767,  by  an  Indian  of  the  Peoria  tribe.  (Monette,  vol.  i.) 


NOTE   F.— THE   WINNEBAGOES.  355 

NOTE  F.     Page  146. 

When  Carver  visited  this  region  in  the  year  1766,  the  Winnebagoes 
had  their  great  town  on  an  island  tying  at  the  east  end  of  Lake  Winne- 
bago.  Here,  he  says,  the  queen  who  presided  over  this  tribe  instead  of 
a  sachem,  received  him  with  great  civility,  and  entertained  him  in  a  most 
distinguished  manner  during  the  four  days  he  continued  with  her.  He 
states  that — 

"  The  day  after  my  arrival,  I  held  a  council  with  the  chiefs,  of  whom. 
I  asked  permission  to  pass  through  their  country  in  my  way  to  more 
remote  nations  on  business  of  importance.  This  was  readily  granted 
me,  the  request  being  esteemed  by  them  as  a  great  compliment  paid  to 
their  tribe.  The  queen  sat  in  the  council,  but  only  asked  a  few  ques 
tions,  or  gave  some  trifling  directions  in  matters  relative  to  the  state  ; 
for  women  are  never  allowed  to  sit  in  their  councils,  except  they  happen 
to  be  invested  with  the  supreme  authority,  and  then  it  is  not  customary 
for  them  to  make  any  formal  speeches  as  the  chiefs  do.  She  was  a  very 
ancient  woman,  small  in  stature,  and  not  much  distinguished  by  her 
dress  from  several  young  women  that  attended  her.  These  her  attend 
ants  seemed  greatly  pleased  whenever  I  showed  any  tokens  of  respect  to 
their  queen,  particularly  when  I  saluted  her,  which  I  frequently  did  to 
acquire  her  favour.  On  these  occasions,  the  good  old  lady  endeavoured 
to  assume  a  juvenile  gayety,  and  by  her  smiles  showed  she  was  equally 
pleased  with  the  attention  I  paid  her. 

"  From  all  I  could  learn  of  the  origin,  language,  and  customs  of  this 
people,  I  conclude  that  the  Winnebagoes  originally  resided  in  some  of 
the  provinces  belonging  to  New  Mexico ;  and  being  driven  from  their 
native  country,  either  by  intestine  divisions,  or  by  the  extension  of  the 
Spanish  conquests,  they  took  refuge  in  these  more  northern  parts  about 
a  century  ago. 

"  My  reasons  for  adopting  this  supposition  are,  first  from  their  unal 
terable  attachment  to  the  Naudowessie  Indians,  (Sioux,)  who  they  say 
gave  them  the  earliest  succour  during  their  emigration,  notwithstanding 
their  present  residence  is  more  than  six  hundred  miles  distant  from  that 
people. 

"  Secondly,  their  dialect  totally  differs  from  every  other  Indian  nation 
yet  discovered  ;  they  converse  with  other  nations  in  the  Chippeway 
tongue,  which  is  the  prevailing  language  throughout  all  the  tribes,  from 
the  Mohawks  of  Canada  to  those  who  inhabit  the  borders  of  the  Missis 
sippi,  and  from  the  Hurons  and  Illinois,  to  such  as  dwell  near  Hudson's 
Eay. 


366  NOTES   TO  CHAPTER  III. 

"  Third,  from  their  inveterate  hatred  to  the  Spaniards.  Some  of  them 
informed  me  that  they  had  made  many  excursions  to  the  southwest, 
which  took  up  several  moons.  An  elderly  chief  more  particularly  ac 
quainted  me,  that  about  forty-six  winters  ago,  (1720)  he  marched  at  the 
head  of  fifty  warriors  towards  the  southwest  for  three  moons.  That 
during  this  expedition,  while  they  were  crossing  a  plain,  they  discovered 
a  body  of  men  on  horseback,  who  belonged  to  the  black  people,  for  so 
they  called  the  Spaniards.  As  soon  as  they  perceived  them,  they  pro 
ceeded  with  caution,  and  concealed  themselves  till  night  came  on  ;  when 
they  drew  so  near  as  to  be  able  to  discern  the  number  and  situation  of 
their  enemies.  Finding  they  were  not  able  to  cope  with  so  great  a  su 
periority  by  day-light,  they  waited  till  they  had  retired  to  rest ;  when 
they  rushed  upon  them,  and  after  having  killed  the  greatest  part  of  the 
men,  took  eighty  horses  loaded  with  what  they  termed  white  stone.  This 
I  suppose  to  have  been  silver,  as  he  told  me  the  horses  were  shod  with 
it,  and  that  their  bridles  were  ornamented  with  the  same.  When  they 
had  satiated  their  revenge,  they  carried  off  their  spoil,  and  being  got  so 
far  as  to  be  out  of  the  reach  of  the  Spaniards  that  had  escaped  their 
fury,  they  left  the  useless  and  ponderous  burthen  with  which  the  horses 
•were  loaded,  in  the  woods,  and  mounting  themselves,  in  this  manner 
returned  to  their  friends.  The  party  they  had  thus  defeated  I  conclude 
to  be  the  caravan  that  annually  conveys  to  Mexico  the  silver  which  the 
Spaniards  find  in  great  quantities  on  the  mountains  lying  near  the  heads 
of  the  Colorado  River ;  and  the  plains  where  the  attack  was  made,  pro 
bably,  some  they  were  obliged  to  pass  over,  in  their  way  to  the  heads  of 
the  river  St.  Fee,  or  Rio  del  Nord,  which  falls  into  the  Gulf  of  Mexico  to 
the  west  of  the  Mississippi. ;'  (Carver's  Travels.) 

At  this  time,  the  town  of  the  "Winnebagoes  contained  about  fifty 
houses,  which  were  strongly  built,  with  palisades  ;  the  island  and  land 
adjacent  to  the  lake  was  very  fertile,  and  the  Indians  raised  on  it  a  great 
quantity  of  Indian  corn,  beans,  pumpkins,  squash,  and  water-melons, 
with  some  tobacco.  The  nation  was  then  able  to  raise  about  two  hun 
dred  warriors  ;  about  forty  miles  up  the  Fox  River  from  the  great  town, 
stood  a  smaller  town  of  the  same  people,  the  population  of  which  Carver 
does  not  give,  but  his  estimate  of  the  number  of  warriors,  if  including 
all,  shows  the  Winnebagoes  at  that  time  to  have  been  weak  in  compari 
son  with  the  neighbouring  nations. 


NOTE   G.-SAUK  PRAIRIE.  367 


NOTE  G.     Page  147. 

On  the  8th  of  October  we  got  our  canoes  into  the  Ouisconsin  River, 
which  at  this  place  is  more  than  a  hundred  yards  wide,  and  the  next 
day  arrived  at  the  great  town  of  the  Saukies.  This  is  the  largest  and 
best  built  Indian  town  I  ever  saw.  It  contains  about  ninety  houses, 
each  large  enough  for  several  families.  These  are  built  of  hewn  plank 
neatly  jointed,  and  covered  with  bark  so  compactly  as  to  keep  out  the 
most  penetrating  rains.  Before  the  doors  are  placed  comfortable  sheds, 
in  which  the  inhabitants  sit,  when  the  weather  will  permit,  and  smoke 
their  pipes.  The  streets  are  regular  and  spacious,  so  that  it  appears 
more  like  a  civilized  town  than  the  abode  of  savages.  The  land  near 
the  town  is  very  good.  In  their  plantations,  which  lie  adjacent  to  their 
houses,  and  which  are  neatly  laid  out,  they  raise  great  quantities  of  In 
dian  corn,  beans,  melons,  &c.,  so  that  this  place  is  esteemed  the  best 
market  for  traders  to  furnish  themselves  with  provisions,  of  any  within 
eight  hundred  miles  of  it. 

The  Saukies  can  raise  about  three  hundred  warriors,  who  are  gene 
rally  employed  every  summer  in  making  incursions  into  the  territories 
of  the  Illinois  and  Pawnee  nations,  from  whence  they  return  with  a 
great  number  of  slaves.  But  those  people  frequently  retaliate,  and  in 
their  turn  destroy  many  of  the  Saukies,  which  I  judge  to  be  the  reason 
that  they  increase  no  faster. 

While  I  stayed  here  I  took  a  view  of  some  mountains  that  lie  about 
fifteen  miles  to  the  southward,  and  abound  in  lead  ore.  I  ascended  one 
of  the  highest  of  these,  and  had  an  extensive  view  of  the  country.  For 
many  miles,  nothing  was  to  be  seen  but  lesser  mountains,  which  ap 
peared  at  a  distance  like  hay-cocks,  they  being  free  from  trees.  Only  a 
few  groves  of  hickory  and  stunted  oaks  covered  some  of  the  valleys. 
So  plentiful  is  lead  here,  that  I  saw  large  quantities  of  it  lying  about 
the  streets  in  the  town,  belonging  to  the  Saukies,  and  it  seemed  to  be  as 
good  as  the  produce  of  other  countries.  (Carver's  Travels.) 


NOTE  H.     Page  163. 

The  following  account  of  Clark's  expedition  is  compiled  from  Monette, 
Perkins,  Hall's  Sketches  of  the  West,  Butler's  Kentucky,  and  other 
authorities. 

About  the  last  of  June  the  expedition  arrived  at  the  "  Old  Cherokee 


368  NOTES   TO  CHAPTER  III. 

Fort,"  below  the  mouth  of  the  Tennessee,  and  about  forty  miles  above 
the  mouth  of  the  Ohio.  At  this  point  Clark  received  two  important 
pieces  of  information :  one  item,  was  the  alliance  of  France  with  the 
colonies ;  this  at  once  made  the  American  side  popular  with  the  French 
and  Indians  of  Illinois  and  the  lakes  ;  France  having  never  lost  her  hold 
upon  her  ancient  subjects  and  allies,  and  England  having  never  secured 
their  confidence.  The  other  item  was,  that  the  inhabitants  of  Kaskaskia 
and  the  other  old  towns  had  been  led  by  the  British  to  believe  that  the 
Long  Knives,  or  Virginians,  were  the  most  fierce,  cruel,  and  blood-thirsty 
savages  that  ever  scalped  a  foe.  With  this  impression  on  their  minds, 
Clark  saw  that  proper  management  would  readily  dispose  them  to  submit 
from  fear,  if  surprised,  and  then  to  become  friendly  from  gratitude, 
when  treated  with  unlocked  for  clemency. 

'•  Having  obtained  experienced  guides  through  the  wilderness,  Colonel 
Clark  determined  to  march  through  by  land,  and  take  Kaskaskia  by  sur 
prise.  He  sunk  his  boats  for  concealment,  and  plunged  into  the  pathless 
wilderness,  across  extensive  marshes  and  low  grounds,  through  woods 
and  over  prairies,  each  man  bearing  upon  his  back  his  scanty  rations, 
baggage,  and  camp  equipage,  but  encouraged  by  the  dauntless  energy  of 
their  commander.  At  length  they  arrived,  unperceived,  in  the  vicinity 
of  Kaskaskia,  on  the  evening  of  the  4th  of  July.  To  avoid  discovery, 
the  troops  remained  concealed  in  the  woods  on  the  east  side  of  Kaskas 
kia  River,  within  two  miles  of  the  town,  until  night  had  obscured  their 
movements  from  observation.  Having  procured  boats  for  crossing  the 
river,  about  midnight  Colonel  Clark  prepared  to  advance  against  the 
enemy.  A  portion  of  the  troops  under  command  of  Captain  Helm 
crossed  the  river  to  the  town,  and  having  taken  it  by  surprise,  the  prin 
cipal  street  was  secured  while  the  inhabitants  were  asleep  in  their 
beds.  Every  avenue  was  guarded  before  they  were  apprized  of  their 
captivity. 

On  the  opposite  side  of  the  river,  Fort  Gage  was  secured  in  like  man 
ner  by  the  remainder  of  the  force  under  Colonel  Clark  himself.  The 
garrison  and  the  sleeping  commandant,  Lieutenant-governor  Rocheblave, 
were  awakened  from  their  peaceful  slumbers  only  to  find  themselves 
prisoners  of  war.  Apprehending  no  danger  at  this  remote  point,  not 
even  a  sentinel  was  on  duty,  nor  a  gate  secured.  Colonel  Clark,  leading 
his  column,  was  conducted  silently  by  a  guide,  (whom  he  had  taken 
prisoner  during  the  evening,)  through  a  postern  gate  into  the  open  fort, 
and  while  with  his  sturdy  warriors  he  surrounded  the  sleeping  garrison, 
and  controlled  the  defences  of  the  post,  the  fearless  Simon  Kenton,  at 
the  head  of  a  file  of  men,  advanced  softly  to  the  apartment  of  the  com 
mander.  While  quietly  reposing  by  his  wife,  he  was  aroused  by  a  gentle 


NOTE  H.— CLARK'S   EXPEDITION.  369 

touch  only  to  behold  his  own  captivity,  and  to  order  the  unconditional 
surrender  of  the  fort  and  its  defenders. 

The  town  of  Kaskaskia,  containing  about  two  hundred  and  fifty  houses, 
was  completely  surrounded,  and  every  avenue  securely  guarded  to  pre 
vent  escape  or  intercourse ;  runners  were  sent  to  warn  the  people,  in  the 
French  tongue,  that  every  enemy  found  in  the  streets  would  be  instantly 
shot  down  ;  at  the  same  time  they  were  convinced,  by  the  terrible  shout 
and  yelling  of  the  troops  around  the  town,  that  they  were  all  prisoners 
of  war.  A  strict  patrol  was  kept  on  duty  during  the  night,  throughout 
the  town,  and  a  sergeant's  guard  passing  through  the  streets,  and  enter 
ing  every  house,  succeeded  in  completely  disarming  the  inhabitants  in 
the  course  of  two  hours.  The  troops  in  the  suburbs  of  the  place  were 
directed  to  keep  up,  during  the  remainder  of  the  night,  a  continued  tu 
mult  and  whooping,  after  the  Indian  fashion,  while  the  inhabitants  were 
required  to  observe  the  most  profound  silence.  All  intercourse  from 
house  to  house  was  strictly  prohibited,  and  the  terror  inspired  was  gene 
ral  and  appalling.  At  the  same  time  Colonel  Clark  had  full  possession 
of  the  fort  and  its  artillery,  which  commanded  the  whole  town  from  the 
opposite  side  of  the  river. 

Such  was  the  work  of  the  first  night,  during  which  this  handful  of 
brave  backwoodsmen  accomplished  one  of  the  most  important  conquests 
in  the  west  without  the  shedding  of  a  drop  of  blood,  or  committing  the 
slightest  outrage  upon  the  conquered  people.  The  wife  of  Mr.  Roche- 
blave  artfully  concealed  his  public  papers,  which  Colonel  Clark  did  not 
succeed  in  obtaining,  no  search  having  been  made  among  the  luggage  of 
the  lady. 

On  the  next  day,  Colonel  Clark  proceeded  to  organize  the  affairs  of  the 
conquered  post.  Having  obtained  ample  intelligence  of  the  state  of  the 
defences  in  the  vicinity,  and  having  properly  secured  his  prisoners  and 
all  suspicious  persons,  he  ordered  the  troops  to  be  withdrawn  from  the 
town,  behind  an  eminence  in  view.  All  communication  between  suspi 
cious  persons  and  the  troops  was  strictly  prohibited,  and  several  militia 
officers  in  the  British  service  were  unceremoniously  placed  in  irons.  An 
air  of  stern  severity  and  prompt  decision  was  assumed  by  the  colonel, 
which  struck  terror  into  the  citizens  :  every  movement  was  made  with 
the  most  rigid  military  discipline,  enforced  by  the  severest  penalties ; 
the  most  unqualified  submission  was  required  from  every  individual  in. 
the  town,  which  was  placed  under  strict  martial  law ;  his  words  were 
few  and  stern  ;  and  a  general  gloom  appeared  to  gather  over  every  coun 
tenance.  They  were  now  prisoners  of  war  to  that  inexorable  enemy  whom 
they  had  been  taught  to  view  as  the  most  terrible  of  the  "  Bostonais," 
and  all  their  fears  and  apprehensions  were  about  to  be  realized. 
VOL.  I.— 24 


370  NOTES  TO   CHAPTER  III. 

At  length  the  village  priest,  Father  Gibault,  at  the  head  of  six  princi 
pal  men  of  the  town,  was  deputed  to  wait  upon  the  American  commander, 
to  supplicate  his  mercy  and  to  deprecate  his  vengeance.  They  were  in 
troduced  to  him  at  his  quarters,  where  he  and  his  officers  were  seated.  At 
the  first  sight  of  the  sturdy  warriors,  Father  Gibault  and  his  associates 
for  some  minutes  were  almost  speechless  ;  all  their  fears  and  prejudices 
were  more  than  realized  in  the  rough  and  severe  features  of  the  men,  no 
less  than  in  their  tattered  and  soiled  apparel.  The  reverend  father  at 
length  spoke,  and  stated  that  they  had  one  small  request  to  make  of  the 
American  commander,  which  they  desired  as  a  special  favour. 

As  the  people  expected  to  be  torn  from  each  other,  and  probably  sepa 
rated  forever,  they  begged,  through  him,  to  be  permitted  first  to  assemble 
in  their  church,  to  take  a  farewell  of  each  other.  Their  request  was 
granted,  but  they  were  warned  not  to  attempt  to  leave  the  town.  The 
colonel's  replies  were  laconic  and  austere.  The  deputation  were  disposed 
to  continue  the  interview,  but  with  a  wave  of  the  hand  they  were  in 
formed  that  he  had  no  leisure  for  further  intercourse,  and  they  retired. 
The  whole  village  attended  at  church,  and  at  length  retired  to  their 
houses.  The  deputation  again  waited  upon  Colonel  Clark,  and  tendered 
"  their  thanks  for  the  indulgence  they  had  received."  They  further  con 
tinued,  "they  were  sensible  that  theirs  was  the  fate  of  war,  and  they 
could  not  well  submit  to  lose  their  property  •"  but  they  prayed  not  to 
be  separated  from  their  wives  and  children,  and  that  something  might 
be  allowed  for  their  support.  They  declared  that  heretofore,  in  their 
conduct,  they  had  only  obeyed  their  commandants,  as  their  duty  required  ; 
that  they  were  ignorant  of  the  nature  of  the  contest  between  the  United 
States  and  Great  Britain ;  and  that  many  of  them  felt  more  favourably 
inclined  toward  the  people  of  the  United  States  than  they  dared  avow. 

At  this  time,  when  their  anxiety  and  fears  were  most  excited,  they  were 
thus  sternly  addressed  by  the  commander  : — "  Do  you  mistake  us  for 
savages  ?  From  your  language,  surely  you  do.  Do  you  think  Americans 
will  strip  women  and  children,  and  take  the  bread  out  of  their  mouths  ? 
My  countrymen  disdain  to  make  war  upon  helpless  innocence.  To  pre 
vent  the  horrors  of  Indian  butchery  upon  our  own  wives  and  children, 
we  have  taken  arms,  and  penetrated  to  this  remote  stronghold  of  Indian 
and  British  barbarity,  and  not  for  despicable  plunder.  The  King  of 
France  has  now  united  his  powerful  arms  with  those  of  America,  and 
the  contest  will  soon  be  ended.  The  people  of  Kaskaskia  may  side  with 
either  party ;  their  property  and  families  shall  be  safe ;  their  religion 
shall  not  be  molested  by  Americans.  To  verify  my  words,  go  tell  your 
fellow  citizens  they  are  at  liberty  to  do  as  they  please,  without  appre 
hension  of  danger  from  me,  I  know  they  are  convinced,  since  my  arrival, 


NOTE   H.— CLARK'S   EXPEDITION. 

that  they  have  been  misinformed  by  British  officers  as  to  the  character 
of  Americans.     Your  friends  shall  be  released  from  confinement." 

The  deputation  attempted  to  apologise  for  the  imputation  implied 
against  the  American  character,  but  it  was  unnecessary;  they  were  de 
sired  to  communicate  his  declaration  to  the  people.  In  a  few  moments 
the  gloom  and  dejection  of  the  whole  town  was  changed  into  the  extrava 
gance  of  joy.  The  bells  rang  their  loudest  peals,  and  the  church  was> 
crowded  with  grateful  hearts,  offering  up  to  God  their  devout  thanks  for 
their  unexpected  deliverance  from  all  the  horrors  they  had  anticipated* 

Thus  relieved  from  their  state  of  fearful  anxiety,  the  people  expressed 
their  admiration  of  the  generous  conduct  of  the  commander  and  his 
troops,  and  professed  their  firm  attachment  to  the  cause  and  government 
of  the  United  States,  and  of  the  commonwealth  of  Virginia  especially. 

On  the  evening  of  the  same  day,  Colonel  Clark  despatched  a  detachment 
of  troops  under  Captain  Bowman  to  surprise  and  capture  the  post  and 
village  of  Cahokia,  on  the  banks  of  the  Mississippi.  The  capture  of  this 
post  was  effected  with  the  same  secrecy  and  celerity  which  characterized 
the  movements  upon  Kaskaskia.  In  this  measure  Captain  Bowman  was 
aided  by  many  citizens  of  the  latter  place,  who  volunteered  to  serve  as 
guides,  and  to  lend  their  friendly  influence  with  their  countrymen  at 
Cahokia,  to  ensure  the  successful  issue  of  the  enterprize.  The  people 
gladly  espoused  the  American  cause. 

Every  post  and  settlement  on  the  Upper  Mississippi  having  been  se 
cured,  Colonel  Clark  proceeded  to  reorganize  the  civil  government  by  plac 
ing  in  office  chiefly  those  who  were  citizens  of  the  country.  The  people  re 
joiced  at  the  change,  and  acknowledged  themselves  a  colony  dependent  on 
Virginia,  well  pleased  with  the  protection  of  the  United  States,  which 
were  now  at  war  with  the  hereditary  enerny  of  France. 

On  the  18th  of  July,  the  inhabitants  of  Vincennes,  at  the  recommenda 
tion  of  Father  Gibault,  parish  priest  of  Kaskaskia,  threw  off  their  alle 
giance  to  the  King  of  Great  Britain,  and  voluntarily  declared  themselves  • 
citizens  of  the  United  States,  and  of  the  State  of  Virginia.  The  com 
mandant  of  the  "VVabash,  Captain  Abbott,  being  absent  at  Detroit,  and 
the  post  at  Vincennes  being  protected  by  only  a  small  garrison,  Colonel 
Clark,  early  in  August,  having  appointed  Captain  Helm  commandant  of 
Fort  Sackville,  and  "Agent  for  Indian  Affairs  in  the  department  of  the 
Wabash,"  despatched  him  with  a  small  garrison  to  take  possession  of  the 
post  of  St.  Vincent,  and  to  await  the  arrival  of  reinforcements  from  Vir 
ginia.  The  new  commander,  under  the  instructions  of  Colonel  Clark,, 
soon  succeeded  in  convening  an  Indian  council  of  influential  warriors, 
and  the  great  Wabash  chief,  Tobacco,  or  "Grand  Door;"  with  whom  a 


372  NOTES   TO   CHAPTER   111. 

treaty  was  effected,  which  conciliated  the  Wabash  tribes  as  far  north  a* 
Ouiatenon  and  the  Wea  towns. 

September  came,  and  but  few  recruits  from  Virginia  had  arrived  ;  many 
of  Clark's  men  had  been  enlisted  for  only  three  months  ;  seventy  of  them 
returned  to  Kentucky,  the  remainder  were  re-enlisted  by  Colonel  Clark, 
and  with  an  additional  company  of  resident  inhabitants  under  their  own 
officers,  he  organized  two  garrisons,  one  under  Captain  Williams  at  Kas- 
kaskia,  and  one  under  Captain  Bowman  at  Cahokia. 

Before  the  middle  of  December  all  appearance  of  Indian  hostility  had 
vanished ;  the  people  of  Vincennes  remained  firmly  attached  to  the  cause- 
of  the  United  States,  and  in  their  allegiance  to  the  commonwealth  of 
Virginia.  Captain  Helm  was  left  with  only  two  soldiers,  and  a  few 
volunteer  militia  to  protect  the  fort  at  Vincennes.  The  whole  regular 
force  at  Kaskaskia  and  Cahokia  was  reduced  to  less  than  one  hundred 
men. 

This  state  of  things  was  soon  made  known  to  Governor  Hamilton,  the 
British  commander  at  Detroit.  The  success  of  the  Virginia  troops,  and 
the  disasters  of  the  British  arms  had  both  alarmed  and  mortified  him, 
and  he  determined  to  make  an  energetic  invasion  of  the  Illinois  country, 
retrieve  the  honour  of  his  Majesty's  arms  by  the  recapture  of  all  the 
posts  on  the  Wabash  and  Illinois,  and  lead  Clark  and  his  followers  cap 
tive  to  Detroit. 

Having  assembled  six  hundred  Indian  warriors,  in  addition  to  his 
force  of  eighty  regular  soldiers,  and  some  Canadian  militia,  he  set  out 
upon  the  expedition  to  Vincennes,  and  approached  that  post  about  the 
middle  of  December.  Captain  Helm  and  his  few  associates  were  upon 
duty,  and  witnessed  the  savage  host  which  swarmed  around  the  approach 
ing  column  of  red-coated  Britons.  The  British  commander,  having  de 
termined  to  carry  the  fort  by  assault,  advanced  to  the  attack. 

Captain  Helm  preserved  the  presence  of  mind  of  a  backwoods  warrior ; 
with  an  air  of  confidence,  and  as  if  supported  by  hundreds  of  defenders 
in  the  fort,  he  sprang  upon  a  bastion  containing  a  well  charged  six- 
pounder,  ranged  to  the  advancing  enemy,  and  with  a  voice  of  thunder, 
as  he  brandished  his  match  in  the  air,  commanded  the  column  to 
"  halt,"  or  he  would  blow  them  to  atoms.  Surprised  at  such  daring,  and 
fearing  a  desperate  resistance  by  the  garrison,  which  possibly  might  far 
exceed  his  expectation,  the  British  commander  ordered  a  halt  until  a 
parley  was  opened.  To  the  demand  for  the  surrender  of  the  fort,  Cap 
tain  Helm  replied,  that  with  the  full  "  honours  of  war,"  he  would  sur 
render  the  post,  but  otherwise  he  would  resist  while  a  man  lived  to 
shoulder  his  rifle.  The  Briton  agreed  to  allow  him  all  the  "  honours  of 
war ;"  and  when  the  fort  was  thrown  open,  Captain  Helm  and  five,  others 


tfOTE  H.— CLARK'S  EXPEDITION.  373 

with  due  formality,  marched  out  and  laid  down  their  arms  before  the 
astonished  commander. 

The  people  of  Vincennes  of  course  were  obliged  again  to  acknowledge 
the  authority  of  England,  and  renounce  that  of  the  United  States  and 
Virginia.  Captain  Helm  and  one  other  American  were  retained  as  pri 
soners  of  war ;  the  other  three  being  volunteer  citizens  of  Vincennes. 
Here  ended  the  efficient  operations  of  Colonel  Hamilton  toward  the  dis 
comfiture  of  Colonel  Clark.  Winter  having  set  in,  he  determined  to 
postpone  the  recapture  of  Kaskaskia  and  its  dependencies  until  the 
opening  of  spring,  when  he  expected  a  reinforcement  of  two  hundred 
warriors  from  Michillimackinac,  and  five  hundred  Cherokees  and  Chicka- 
sas  from  the  south.  With  these  forces,  in  addition  to  his  present  com 
mand,  he  had  made  his  calculations  of  capturing  Colonel  Clark  and  his 
handful  of  backwoodsmen,  and  of  prostrating  the  American  settlements 
on  the  Ohio,  by  "  sweeping  Kentucky  and  Virginia,"  on  his  route  to 
Fort  Pitt. 

Late  in  January,  1779,  Colonel  Clark  received  intelligence  that  Colonel 
Hamilton  was  at  Vincennes,  with  only  eighty  soldiers  under  his  com 
mand,  and  was  unsupported  by  his  savage  allies,  yet  contemplated  the 
reduction  of  the  post  of  Kaskaskia  in  the  spring.  To  avoid  the  very 
disagreeable  alternative  of  being  captured  and  led  a  prisoner  to  Detroit, 
Clark  determined  to  make  an  energetic  movement  with  such  forces  as  he 
could  raise,  and  anticipate  his  rival's  movements,  by  capturing  Fort 
Sackville,  and  sending  Colonel  Hamilton  a  prisoner  to  the  capital  of 
Virginia. 

Accordingly,  he  prepared  to  make  a  sudden  and  unexpected  march 
upon  Vincennes  with  his  whole  disposable  force,  which  was  increased  by 
two  companies  raised  in  Kaskaskia  and  Cahokia,  and  such  recruits  as 
he  could  muster  in  ten  days,  the  whole  amounting  to  only  one  hundred 
and  seventy  men.  A  large  keel  boat  was  fitted  up  as  a  galley,  and 
mounted  with  two  four-pounder  cannon  and  four  swivels,  and  furnished 
•with  a  suitable  supply  of  provisions,  amunition,  and  military  stores. 
This  vessel  was  placed  under  the  command  of  Captain  John  Ilodgers, 
with  a  company  of  forty-six  men,  with  orders  to  penetrate  up  the  Wabash 
within  a  few  miles  of  the  mouth  of  White  River,  and  there  to  take  up 
his  position  and  wait  for  further  orders,  permitting  none  to  pass  up  or 
down  the  river. 

On  the  7th  of  February,  Colonel  Clark  with  the  remainder  of  his  force, 
amounting  to  one  hundred  and  thirty  men,  set  out  upon  a  perilous  march 
of  one  hundred  and  fifty  miles  through  the  wilderness,  northeast,  to 
Vincennes.  The  route  was  an  Indian  trace,  which  lay  through  deep 
forests  and  prairies  j  the  weather  was  uncommonly  wet ;  the  water  courses 


NOTES  TO  CHAPTER  III. 

were  out  of  their  banks ;  and  the  larger  streams  had  inundated  their 
bottoms  from  bluff  to  bluff,  often  three  or  four  miles  in  width ;  but  the 
hardy  backwoodsmen,  under  their  intrepid  and  persevering  leader,  pressed 
forward  in  spite  of  every  obstacle.  On  foot,  with  their  rifles  on  their 
shoulders,  and  their  knapsacks  filled  with  parched  corn  and  jerked  beef, 
for  six  days  they  advanced  along  the  trace,  through  forests,  marshes, 
ponds,  swollen  streams,  and  inundated  lowlands,  for  nearly  one  hundred 
miles,  when  they  arrived  at  the  crossings  of  the  little  Wabash,  where  the 
bottoms,  to  the  width  of  three  miles  were  inundated  to  the  depth  of  three 
feet,  never  under  two,  and  frequently  over  four.  Through  these  lowlands 
the  whole  battalion  were  compelled  to  march,  often  feeling  for  the  trace 
with  their  feet,  and  carrying  their  arms  and  ammunition  over  their  heads 
to  protect  them  from  the  water. 

Five  days  more  brought  them  to  the  Wabash,  just  below  the  mouth  of 
the  Embarras  River,  and  nine  miles  below  the  post  of  Yincennes.  Here 
great  difficulty  was  encountered  in  crossing  the  river.  No  boats  were 
within  reach,  and  the  galley  had  not  arrived.  Nearly  two  days  were 
spent  in  unavailing  efforts  to  cross  the  river ;  the  men  became  discouraged, 
and  starvation  seemed  to  await  them  in  their  present  situation.  At 
length,  on  the  evening  of  the  20th,  a  boat  was  captured,  and  preparations 
for  crossing  the  low  grounds  and  the  river  commenced.  After  great  diffi 
culty  in  crossing  the  river,  they  traversed  low  grounds  by  wading  often 
-up  to  their  armpits,  and  reached  the  opposite  highlands  nearly  exhausted 
by  fatigue,  fasting,  and  cold.  Here  they  remained  to  recruit  their  ex 
hausted  bodies,  and  to  prepare  for  their  appearance  before  Fort  Sackville. 
Such  had  been  their  hardships  by  day  and  at  night,  by  hunger  and 
exposure  in  the  water,  that  the  comparative  mildness  of  the  season  alone 
prevented  this  gallant  little  band  from  perishing  almost  in  sight  of  the 
-object  of  their  toils.1 

The  following  extracts  from  Colonel  Clark's  journal,  of  the  expedition 
against  Yincennes,  present  a  vivid  picture  of  the  sufferings  of  the  party, 
and  a  correct  account  of  their  final  success  in  the  capture  of  the  post, 
which  put  an  end  to  British  dominion  in  the  Illinois  country,  and  pre 
served  the  eastern  States  from  further  Indian  depredations  during  the 
American  revolution.  The  original  manuscript  of  Colonel  Clark's  narra 
tive,  which  is  in  the  possession  of  Lyman  C.  Draper,  Esq.,  of  Madison, 
.soon  to  be  published  by  him  is  highly  interesting. 

"  The  most  of  the  weather  that  we  had  on  this  march  was  moist  and 
-warm  for  the  season.  This  was  the  coldest  night  we  had,  (February  21st.) 
The  ice  in  the  morning  was  from  one-half  to  three-quarters  of  an  inch 

1  Jefferson's  Corresp.     Randolph's  ed.,  vol.  1.,  p.  451. 


NOTE  H.— CLARK'S  EXPEDITION.  375 

•thick,  near  the  shores  and  in  still  water.  The  morning  (February  22d) 
was  the  finest  we  had  on  our  march.  A  little  after  sunrise  I  lectured 
the  whole.  What  I  said  to  them  I  forget ;  but  it  may  be  easily  imagined 
by  a  person  that  could  possess  my  affections  for  them  at  that  time.  I 
concluded  by  informing  them,  that  passing  the  plain  that  was  then  in 
full  view,  and  reaching  the  opposite  woods,  would  put  an  end  to  their 
fatigue  ;  that  in  a  few  hours  they  would  have  a  sight  of  their  long  wished 
for  object ;  and  immediately  stepped  into  the  water  without  waiting  for 
.any  reply.  A  huzza  took  place.  As  we  generally  marched  through  the 
water  in  a  line,  before  the  third  entered,  I  halted  and  calling  to  Major 
Bowman,  ordered  him  to  fall  in  the  rear  with  twenty-five  men,  and  put 
to  death  any  man  who  refused  to  march,  as  we  wished  to  have  no  such 
person  among  us.  The  whole  gave  a  cry  of  approbation,  and  on  we 
went.  This  was  the  most  trying  of  all  the  difficulties  we  had  experienced. 
I  generally  kept  fifteen  or  twenty  of  the  strongest  men  next  myself,  and 
judged  from  my  own  feelings  what  must  be  that  of  others.  Getting  about 
the  middle  of  the  plain,  the  water  about  mid-deep,  I  found  myself  sensi 
bly  failing ;  and  as  there  were  no  trees  nor  bushes  for  the  men  to  support 
themselves  by,  I  feared  that  many  of  the  most  weak  would  be  drowned. 
I  ordered  the  canoes  to  make  the  land,  discharge  their  loading,  and  ply 
backwards  and  forwards  with  all  diligence  and  pick  up  the  men  ;  and  to 
^encourage  the  party,  sent  some  of  the  strongest  men  forward  with  orders, 
when  they  got  to  a  certain  distance,  to  pass  the  word  back  that  the  water 
•was  getting  shallow ;  and  when  getting  near  the  woods  to  cry  out "  Land !" 
This  stratagem  had  its  desired  effect.  The  men,  encouraged  by  it,  exerted 
themselves  almost  beyond  their  abilities — the  weak  holding  by  the 
stronger.  *  *  *  The  water  never  got  shallower,  but  continued  deep 
ening.  Getting  to  the  woods  where  the  men  expected  land,  the  water 
was  up  to  my  shoulders  ;  but  gaining  the  woods  was  of  great  conse 
quence  ;  all  the  low  men,  and  the  weakly,  hung  to  the  trees,  and 
floated  on  the  old  logs,  until  they  were  taken  off  by  the  canoes.  The 
strong  and  tall  got  ashore  and  built  fires.  Many  would  reach  the  shore 
and  fall  with  their  bodies  half  in  the  water,  not  being  able  to  support 
themselves  without  it. 

"  This  was  a  delightful  dry  spot  of  ground  of  about  ten  acres.  We 
soon  found  that  the  fires  answered  no  purpose ;  but  that  two  strong  men 
taking  a  weaker  one  by  the  arms,  was  the  only  way  to  recover  him, — 
and  being  a  delightful  day,  it  soon  did.  But  fortunately,  as  if  designed 
by  Providence,  a  canoe  of  Indian  squaws  and  children  was  coming  up 
to  town,  and  took  through  part  of  this  plain  as  a  nigh  way.  It  was  dis 
covered  by  our  canoes  as  they  were  out  after  the  men.  They  gave  chase 
and  took  the  Indian  canoe,  on  board  of  which  was  near  half  a  quarter 


376  NOTES   TO   CHAPTER  III. 

of  a  buffalo,  some  corn,  tallow,  kettles,  &c.  This  was  a  grand  prize  and 
was  invaluable.  Broth  was  immediately  made  and  served  out  to  the 
most  weakly,  with  great  care :  most  of  the  whole  got  a  little ;  but  a 
great  many  gave  their  part  to  the  weakly,  jocosely  saying  something 
cheering  to  their  comrades.  This  little  refreshment  and  fine  weather, 
by  the  afternoon  gave  new  life  to  the  whole.  Crossing  a  narrow  deep 
lake  in  the  canoes,  and  marching  some  distance,  we  came  to  a  copse  of 
timber  called  the  Warrior's  Island.  We  were  now  in  full  view  of  the  fort 
and  town,  not  a  shrub  between  us,  at  about  two  miles  distance.  Every 
man  now  feasted  his  eyes,  and  forgot  that  he  had  suffered  any  thing, — 
Baying,  that  all  that  had  passed  was  owing  to  good  policy,  and  nothing 
but  what  a  man  could  bear,  and  that  a  soldier  had  no  right  to  think,  &c. 
— passing  from  one  extreme  to  another,  which  is  common  in  such  cases. 
It  was  now  we  had  to  display  our  abilities.  The  plain  between  us  and  the 
town  was  not  a  perfect  level.  The  sunken  grounds  were  covered  with 
water,  full  of  ducks.  We  observed  several  men  out  on  horseback,  shoot 
ing  them,  within  half  a  mile  of  us  ;  and  sent  out  as  many  of  our  active 
young  Frenchmen  to  decoy  and  take  one  of  these  men  prisoner,  in  such 
a  manner  as  not  to  alarm  the  others,  which  they  did.  The  information 
we  got  from  this  person  was  similar  to  that  which  we  got  from  those  we 
took  on  the  river ;  except  that  of  the  British  having  that  evening  com 
pleted  the  wall  of  the  fort,  and  that  there  was  a  good  many  Indians  in 
town. 

"  Our  situation  was  now  truly  critical — no  possibility  of  retreating  in 
case  of  defeat — and  in  full  view  of  a  town  that  had  at  this  time  upwards 
of  six  hundred  men  in  it,  troops,  inhabitants,  and  Indians.  The  crew 
of  the  galley,  though  not  fifty  men,  would  have  been  now  a  reinforce 
ment  of  immense  magnitude  to  our  little  army,  (if  I  may  so  call  it,)  but 
we  would  not  think  of  them.  We  were  now  in  the  situation  that  I  had 
laboured  to  get  ourselves  in.  The  idea  of  being  made  prisoner  was  fo 
reign  to  almost  every  man,  as  they  expected  nothing  but  torture  from 
the  savages  if  they  fell  into  their  hands.  Our  fate  was  now  to  be  deter 
mined,  probably  in  a  few  hours.  We  knew  that  nothing  but  the  most 
daring  conduct  would  insure  success.  I  knew  that  a  number  of  the  in 
habitants  wished  us  well — that  many  were  lukewarm  to  the  interest  of 
either — and  I  also  learned  that  the  grand  chief,  the  Tobacco's  son,  had, 
but  a  few  days  before,  openly  declared  in  council  with  the  British,  that 
he  was  a  brother  and  friend  to  the  Big  Knives.  These  were  favourable 
circumstances  ;  and  as  there  was  but  little  probability  of  our  remaining 
until  dark  undiscovered,  I  determined  to  begin  the  career  immediately, 
and  wrote  the  following  placard  to  the  inhabitants : — 


NOTE  H.— CLARK'S  EXPEDITION.  377 

"  '  To  the  Inhabitants  of  Post  Vincennes. 

"  Gentlemen — Being  now  within  two  miles  of  your  village,  with  my 
army,  determined  to  take  your  fort  this  night,  and  not  being  willing  to 
surprise  you,  I  take  this  method  to  request  such  of  you  as  are  true  citi 
zens  and  willing  to  enjoy  the  liberty  I  bring  you,  to  remain  still  in  your 
houses.  And  those,  if  any  there  be,  that  are  friends  to  the  king,  will 
instantly  repair  to  the  fort  and  join  the  liair-buyer  general,  and  fight  like 
.men.  And  if  any  such  as  do  not  go  to  the  fort  shall  be  discovered  after 
ward,  they  may  depend  on  severe  punishment.  On  the  contrary,  those 
who  are  true  friends  to  liberty  may  depend  on  being  well  treated  ;  and 
I  once  more  request  them  to  keep  out  of  the  streets.  For  every  one  I 
find  in  arms  on  my  arrival,  I  shall  treat  as  an  enemy. 

"'(Signed,)  G.R.CLARK/ 

"  A  little  before  sunset  we  moved  and  displayed  ourselves  in  full  view 
of  the  town — crowds  gazing  at  us.  We  were  plunging  ourselves  into 
certain  destruction  or  success.  There  was  no  midway  thought  of.  We 
had  but  little  to  say  to  our  men,  except  inculcating  an  idea  of  the  necessity 
of  obedience,  &c.  We  knew  they  did  not  want  encouraging,  and  that  any 
thing  might  be  attempted  with  them  that  was  possible  for  such  a  number 
— perfectly  cool,  under  proper  subordination,  pleased  with  the  prospect 
before  them,  and  much  attached  to  their  officers.  They  all  declared  that 
they  were  convinced  that  an  implicit  obedience  to  orders  was  the  only 
thing  that  would  ensure  success — and  hoped  that  no  mercy  would  be 
shown  the  person  that  should  violate  them.  Such  language  as  this  from 
soldiers,  to  persons  in  our  station,  must  have  been  exceedingly  agree 
able.  We  moved  on  slowly  in  full  view  of  the  town  ;  but  as  it  was  a 
point  of  some  consequence  to  us  to  make  ourselves  appear  as  formidable, 
we,  in  leaving  the  covert  that  we  were  in,  marched  and  counter-marched 
in  such  a  manner  that  we  appeared  numerous.  In  raising  volunteers  in 
the  Illinois,  every  person  that  set  about  the  business  had  a  set  of  colours 
given  them,  which  they  brought  with  them,  to  the  amount  of  ten  or 
twelve  pair.  These  were  displayed  to  the  best  advantage  ;  and  as  the 
low  plain  we  marched  through  was  not  a  perfect  level,  but  had  frequent 
risings  in  it,  seven  or  eight  feet  higher  than  the  common  level,  (which 
was  covered  with  water,)  and  as  these  risings  generally  run  in  an  ob 
lique  direction  to  the  town,  we  took  the  advantage  of  one  of  them,  march 
ing  through  the  water  under  it,  which  completely  prevented  our  being 
numbered ;  but  our  colours  showed  considerably  above  the  heights,  as 
they  were  fixed  on  long  poles  procured  for  the  purpose,  and  at  a  dis 
tance  made  no  despicable  appearance  ;  and  as  our  young  Frenchmen 
had,  while  we  lay  on  the  Warrior's  Island,  decoyed  and  taken  several 


378  NOTES  TO  CHAPTER  III. 

fowlers,  with  their  horses,  officers  were  mounted  on  these  horses,  and 
rode  about,  more  completely  to  deceive  the  enemy.  In  this  manner  we 
moved,  and  directed  our  march  in  such  a  way  as  to  suffer  it  to  be  dark 
before  we  had  advanced  more  than  halfway  to  the  town.  We  then 
suddenly  altered  our  direction,  and  crossed  ponds  where  they  could  not 
liave  suspected  us,  and  about  eight  o'clock  gained  the  heights  back  of 
the  town. 

"  The  garrison  was  soon  completely  surrounded,  and  the  firing  con 
tinued  without  intermission,  (except  about  fifteen  minutes  a  little  before 
day,)  until  about  nine  o'clock  the  following  morning.  It  was  kept  up 
by  the  whole  of  the  troops — -joined  by  a  few  of  the  young  men  of  the 
town,  who  got  permission — except  fifty  men  kept  as  a  reserve.  *  *  * 
I  had  made  myself  fully  acquainted  with  the  situation  of  the  fort  and 
town,  and  the  parts  relative  to  each.  The  cannon  of  the  garrison  was 
on  the  upper  floors  of  strong  block-houses  at  each  angle  of  the  fort, 
eleven  feet  above  the  surface  ;  and  the  ports  so  badly  cut  that  many  of 
our  troops  lay  under  the  fire  of  them  within  twenty  or  thirty  yards  of 
the  walls.  They  did  no  damage  except  to  the  buildings  of  the  town, 
some  of  which  they  much  shattered ;  and  their  musketry,  in  the  dark, 
employed  against  woodsmen,  covered  by  houses,  palings,  ditches,  the 
banks  of  the  river,  &c.,  was  but  of  little  avail,  and  did  no  injury  to  us, 
except  wounding  a  man  or  two.  As  we  could  not  afford  to  lose  men, 
great  care  was  taken  to  preserve  them  sufficiently  covered,  and  to  keep 
up  a  hot  fire  in  order  to  intimidate  the  enemy  as  well  as  destroy  them. 
The  embrasures  of  their  cannon  were  frequently  shut,  for  our  riflemen 
finding  the  true  direction  of  them,  would  pour  in  such  volleys  when 
they  were  opened,  that  the  men  could  not  stand  to  the  guns :  seven  or 
eight  of  them  in  a  short  time  got  cut  down.  Our  troops  would  fre 
quently  abuse  the  enemy,  in  order  to  aggravate  them  to  open  their  ports 
and  fire  their  cannon,  that  they  might  have  the  pleasure  of  cutting  them 
down  with  their  rifles — fifty  of  which  perhaps  would  be  levelled  the  mo 
ment  the  port  flew  open  ;  and  I  believe  that  if  they  had  stood  at  their 
artillery,  the  greater  part  of  them  would  have  been  destroyed  in  the 
course  of  the  night,  as  the  greater  part  of  our  men  lay  within  thirty 
yards  of  the  walls  ;  and  in  a  few  hours  were  covered  equal  to  those 
within  the  walls,  and  much  more  experienced  in  that  mode  of  fighting. 
*  *  *  *  *  * 

"  Sometimes  an  irregular  fire,  as  hot  as  possible,  was  kept  up  from  differ 
ent  directions,  for  a  few  minutes,  and  then  only  a  continual  scattering  fire 
at  the  ports  as  usual ;  and  a  great  noise  and  laughter  immediately  com 
menced  in  different  parts  of  the  town,  by  the  reserved  parties,  as  if  they 
.had  only  fired  on  the  fort  a  few  minutes  for  amusement ;  and  as  if  those 


NOTE  H.— CLARK'S  EXPEDITION.  379 

continually  firing  at  the  fort  were  only  regularly  relieved.     Conduct 
similar  to  this  kept  the  garrison  constantly  alarmed. 

4t  Thus  the  attack  continued  until  about  nine  o'clock  on  the  morning 
of  the  24th.  Learning  that  the  two  prisoners  they  had  brought  in  the 
day  before,  had  a  considerable  number  of  letters  with  them,  I  supposed 
it  an  express  that  we  expected  about  this  time,  which  I  knew  to  be  of 
the  greatest  moment  to  us,  as  we  had  not  received  one  since  our  arrival 
in  the  country ;  and  not  being  fully  acquainted  with  the  character  of 
our  enemy,  we  were  doubtful  that  those  papers  might  be  destroyed;  to 
prevent  which,  I  sent  a  flag,  with  a  letter,  demanding  the  garrison." 

(The  following  is  a  copy  of  the  letter  which  was  addressed  by  Colonel 
Olark  to  Lieutenant-governor  Hamilton,  on  this  occasion ;  it  is  extracted 
from  Major  Bowman's  MS.  Journal,  as  quoted  in  Perkins's  Annals,  p.  208.) 

"  Sir — In  order  to  save  yourself  from  the  impending  storm  that  now 
threatens  you,  I  order  you  immediately  to  surrender  yourself,  with  all 
your  garrison,  stores,  &c.  For  if  I  am  obliged  to  storm,  you  may  de 
pend  on  such  treatment  as  is  justly  due  to  a  murderer.  Beware  of  de 
stroying  stores  of  any  kind,  or  any  papers  or  letters  that  are  in  your 
possession,  or  hurting  one  house  in  town — for  by  heavens !  if  you  do, 
there  shall  be  no  mercy  shown  you. 

(Signed,)  G.  R.  CLARK." 

To  this  the  governor  replied  that  he  could  not  think  of  being  "  awed 
into  any  action  unworthy  a  British  subject;"  but  perhaps  his  true  feel 
ings  were  exhibited,  when  he  inquired  of  Captain  Helm,  (who  was  hia 
prisoner,)  if  "  Colonel  Clark  was  a  merciful  man." 
»  Finding  the  British  unwilling  to  yield  quietly,  Colonel  Clark  renewed 
the  firing  with  increased  vigour ;  the  soldiers  of  the  fort  did  not  dare  to 
look  out  of  the  loop-holes,  as  several  were  shot  by  balls  which  came 
through  these  apertures :  at  length  Hamilton  sent  out  a  flag  with  the 
following  letter : — 

"  Lieutenant-governor  Hamilton  proposes  to  Colonel  Clark  a  truce  for 
three  days ;  during  which  time  he  promises  there  shall  be  no  defensive 
works  carried  on  in  the  garrison,  on  condition  that  Colonel  Clark  shall  ob 
serve  on  his  part,  a  like  cessation  of  any  defensive  work ;  that  is,  he  wishes 
to  confer  with  Colonel  Clark  as  soon  as  can  be;  and  promises  that  whatever 
may  pass  between  them  two,  and  another  person  mutually  agreed  upon  to 
fre  present,  shall  remain  secret  till  matters  be  finished,  as  he  wishes,  that 
•whatever  the  result  of  the  conference  may  be,  it  may  tend  to  the  honour 
.and  credit  of  each  party.  If  Colonel  Clark  makes  a  difficulty  of  coming 


380  NOTES   TO   CHAPTER  III. 

into  the  fort,  Lieutenant-governor  Hamilton  will  speak  to  him  by  the 
gate. 

"(Signed,)  HENRY  HAMILTON, 

"24th  February,  79." 

We  now  resume  our  extracts  from  Clark's  MS.  journal : — 
"  I  was  at  a  great  loss  to  conceive  what  reason  Lieutenant-governor 
Hamilton  could  have  for  wishing  a  truce  of  three  days,  on  such  terms  as 
he  proposed.  Numbers  said  it  was  a  scheme  to  get  me  into  their  posses 
sion.  I  had  a  different  opinion,  and  no  idea  of  his  possessing  such  sen 
timents  ;  as  an  act  of  that  kind  would  infallibly  ruin  him.  Although 
we  had  the  greatest  reason  to  expect  a  reinforcement  in  less  than  three 
days,  that  would  at  once  put  an  end  to  the  siege,  I  yet  did  not  think  it 
prudent  to  agree  to  the  proposals,  and  sent  the  following  answer : 

"  'Colonel  Clark's  compliments  to  Lieutenant-governor  Hamilton,  and 
begs  leave  to  inform  him,  that  he  will  not  agree  to  any  terms  other  than 
Mr.  Hamilton's  surrendering  himself  and  garrison  prisoners  at  discre 
tion.  If  Mr.  Hamilton  is  desirous  of  a  conference  with  Colonel  Clark, 
he  will  meet  him  at  the  church  with  Captain  Helm. 

"'(Signed,)  G.  K.  C. 

'"February  24th,  79.' 

"  We  met  at  the  church  about  eighty  yards  from  the  fort — Lieutenant- 
governor  Hamilton,  Major  Hay,  Superintendent  of  Indian  Affairs,  Cap 
tain  Helm,  their  prisoner,  Major  Bowman,  and  myself.  The  conference 
began.  Hamilton  produced  terms  of  capitulation,  signed,  that  contained 
various  articles,  one  of  which  was  that  the  garrison  should  be  surren 
dered,  on  their  being  permitted  to  go  to  Pensacola  on  parole.  After  de 
liberating  on  every  article,  I  rejected  the  whole.  He  then  wished  that 
I  would  make  some  proposition.  I  told  him  that  I  had  no  other  to 
make,  than  what  I  had  already  made — that  of  his  surrendering  as  pri 
soners  at  discretion.  I  said  that  his  troops  had  behaved  with  spirit ; 
that  they  could  not  suppose  that  they  would  be  worse  treated  in  conse 
quence  of  it;  that  if  he  chose  to  comply  with  the  demand,  though  hard, 
perhaps  the  sooner  the  better  ;  that  it  was  in  vain  to  make  any  proposi 
tion  to  me ;  that  he,  by  this  time,  must  be  sensible  that  the  garrison 
would  fall ;  that  both  of  us  must  regard  all  blood  spilt  for  the  future  by 
the  garrison  as  murder ;  that  my  troops  were  already  impatient  and 
called  aloud  for  permission  to  tear  down  and  storm  the  fort;  if  such  a 
step  was  taken,  many  of  course  would  be  cut  down,  and  the  result  of  an 
enraged  body  of  woodsmen  breaking  in,  must  be  obvious  to  him ;  it 
would  be  out  of  the  power  of  an  American  officer  to  save  a  single  man. 
Various  altercation  took  place  for  a  considerable  time.  Captain  Helm 


NOTE  H.— CLARK'S   EXPEDITION.  381 

attempted  to  moderate  our  fixed  determination.  I  told  him  he  was  a 
British  prisoner,  and  it  was  doubtful  whether  or  not  he  could  with  pro 
priety  speak  on  the  subject.  Hamilton  then  said  that  Captain  Helm  was 
from  that,  liberated,  and  might  use  his  pleasure.  I  informed  the  captain 
that  I  would  not  receive  him  on  such  terms — that  he  must  return  to  the 
garrison  and  await  his  fate.  I  then  told  Lieutenant-colonel  Hamilton, 
that  hostilities  should  not  commence  until  five  minutes  after  the  drums 
gave  the  alarm.  We  took  our  leave  and  parted  but  a  few  steps,  when 
Hamilton  stopped  and  politely  asked  mo  if  I  would  be  so  kind  as  to  give 
him  my  reasons  for  refusing  the  garrison,  on  any  terms  than  those  I  had 
offered.  I  told  him  I  had  no  objections  in  giving  him  my  real  reasons, 
which  were  simply  these :  that  I  knew  the  greater  part  of  the  principal 
Indian  partisans  of  Detroit  were  with  him  ;  that  I  wanted  an  excuse  to 
put  them  to  death,  or  otherwise  treat  ^hem  as  I  thought  proper ;  that 
the  cries  of  the  widows  and  the  fatherless  on  the  frontiers,  which  they 
had  occasioned,  now  required  their  blood  from  my  hands,  and  that  I  did 
not  choose  to  be  so  timorous  as  to  disobey  the  absolute  commands  of 
their  authority,  which  I  looked  upon  to  be  next  to  divine ;  that  I  would 
rather  lose  fifty  men,  than  not  to  empower  myself  to  execute  this  piece 
of  business  with  propriety ;  that  if  he  chose  to  risk  the  massacre  of  his 
garrison  for  their  sakes,  it  was  his  own  pleasure  ;  and  that  I  might  per 
haps  take  it  into  my  head  to  send  for  some  of  those  widows  to  see  it 
executed.  Major  Hay  paying  great  attention,  I  had  observed  a  kind  of 
distrust  in  his  countenance,  which  in  a  great  measure  influenced  my 
conversation  during  this  time.  On  my  concluding,  "  Pray,  sir/'  said  he, 
"  who  is  that  you  call  Indian  partisans  ?"  "  Sir,"  I  replied,  "  I  take 
Major  Hay  to  be  one  of  the  principal/'  I  never  saw  a  man  in  the  mo 
ment  of  execution  so  struck  as  he  appeared  to  be — pale  and  trembling 
— scarcely  able  to  stand.  Hamilton  blushed,  and  I  observed  was  much 
affected  at  his  behaviour.  Major  Bowman's  countenance  sufficiently 
explained  his  disdain  for  the  one,  and  his  sorrow  for  the  other.  *  *  * 
Some  moments  elapsed  without  a  word  passing  on  either  side.  From, 
that  moment  my  resolutions  changed  respecting  Hamilton's  situation. 
I  told  him  that  we  would  return  to  our  respective  posts  ;  that  I  would 
reconsider  the  matter,  and  let  him  know  the  result ;  no  offensive  mea 
sures  should  be  taken  in  the  mean  time.  Agreed  to,  and  we  parted. 
What  had  passed,  being  made  known  to  our  officers,  it  was  agreed  that 
we  should  moderate  our  resolutions/' 

From  Major  Bowman's  MS.  journal,  as  quoted  by  Perkins,  p.  212,  the 
following  is  extracted : — 


382  NOTES   TO   CHAPTER   III. 

In  the  course  of  the  afternoon  of  the  24th,  the  following  articles  were 
signed,  and  the  garrison  capitulated. 

I.  Lieutenant-governor  Hamilton  engages  to  deliver  up  to  Colonel 
Clark,  Fort  Sackville,  as  it  is  at  present,  with  all  the  stores,  &c. 

II.  The  garrison  are  to  deliver  themselves  as  prisoners  of  war ;  and 
march  out  with  their  arms,  and  accoutrements,  &c. 

III.  The  garrison  to  be  delivered  up  at  ten  o'clock  to-morrow. 

IV.  Three  days'  time  to  be  allowed  the  garrison  to  settle  their  accounts 
with  the  inhabitants  and  traders  of  this  place. 

V.  The  officers  of  the  garrison  to  be  allowed  their  necessary  baggage. 
Signed  at  Post  St.  Vincent,  (Vincennes,)  24th  February,  1779. 
Agreed  for  the  following  reasons  :  the  remoteness  from  succour;  the 

state  and  quantity  of  provisions,  &c. ;  unanimity  of  officers  and  men  in 
its  expediency ;  the  honorable  terms  allowed ;  and  lastly  the  confidence 
in  a  generous  enemy. 

(Signed,)  HENRY  HAMILTON-, 

Lieutenant-governor  and  Superintendent. 

The  MS.  of  Colonel  Clark  further  observes — 

"  The  business  being  now  nearly  at  an  end,  troops  were  posted  in 
several  strong  houses  around  the  garrison,  and  patroled  during  the  night, 
to  prevent  any  deception  that  might  be  attempted.  The  remainder  on 
duty  lay  on  their  arms ;  and  for  the  first  time  for  many  days  past  got 
some  rest.  *  *  *  During  the  siege  I  got  only  one  man  wounded  ;  not 
being  able  to  lose  many,  I  made  them  secure  themselves  well.  Seven 
were  badly  wounded  in  the  fort,  through  ports."  *  *  * 

The  hardships  endured  by  Colonel  Clark's  men,  in  this  expedition,  may 
best  be  shown  by  giving  an  extract  from  Major  Joseph  Bowman's  jour 
nal,  the  MS.  of  which  is  quoted  in  Perkins,  p.  202,  as  follows  : — 

"February  7th.  Began  our  march  early  :  made  a  good  day's  march  for 
about  nine  leagues.  The  road  very  bad  with  mud  and  water.  Pitched 
our  camp  in  a  square,  baggage  in  the  middle,  every  company  to  guard 
their  own  square. 

8th.  Marched  early,  through  the  waters  which  we  now  began  to  meet 
in  those  large  and  level  plains,  where  from  the  flatness  of  the  country, 
the  water  rests  a  considerable  time  before  it  drains  off.  Nothwithstand- 
ing,  our  men  were  in  great  spirits  though  much  fatigued. 

9th.  Made  another  day's  march.     Rain  part  of  the  day. 

10th.  Crossed  the  river  Petit  Fort,  upon  trees  which  we  felled  for  that 
purpose,  the  water  being  so  high  there  was  no  fording  it.     Still  raining 
and  no  tents.     Encamped  near  the  river.     Stormy  weather.- 
llth.  Crossed  the  Saline  lliver.    Nothing  extraordinary  this  day, 


NOTE  H.— CLARK'S  EXPEDITION.  383 

12th.  Marched  across  Cat  Plains.  Saw  and  killed  numbers  of  buffa 
loes.  The  road  very  bad  from  the  immense  quantity  of  rain  that  had 
fallen.  The  men  much  fatigued.  Encamped  on  the  edge  of  the  wood. 
This  plain  being  fifteen  or  more  miles  across,  it  was  late  in  the  night 
before  the  baggage  and  troops  got  together.  Now  21  miles  from  St. 
Vincent's. 

13th.  Arrived  early  at  the  two  Wabashes  ;  although  a  league  asunder, 
they  are  now  but  one.  We  set  to  making  a  canoe. 

14th.  Finished  the  canoe  and  put  her  into  the  river  about  four  o'clock 
in  the  afternoon. 

15th.  Ferried  across  the  two  Wabashes,  it  being  three  miles  in  water 
to  the  opposite  hills,  where  we  encamped.  Still  raining.  Ordered  not 
to  fire  any  guns  in  future,  but  in  case  of  necessity. 

16th.  March  all  day  through  rain  and  water.  Crossed  the  Fir  River. 
Provisions  begin  to  be  short. 

17th.  Marched  early.  Crossed  several  runs  very  deep.  Sent  Mr. 
Kennedy,  our  commissary,  with  three  men  to  cross  the  river  Embarras, 
if  possible,  and  proceed  to  a  plantation  opposite  Post  St.  Vincent's,  in 
order  to  steal  boats  or  canoes  to  ferry  us  across  the  Wabash.  About  an 
hour  by  sun,  we  got  near  the  river  Embarras,  and  found  the  country 
all  overflowed  with  water.  We  strove  to  find  the  Wabash.  Travelled 
till  three  o'clock  in  mud  and  water,  but  could  find  no  place  to  encamp  on. 
Still  keep  marching  on,  but  after  some  time,  Mr.  Kennedy  and  his  party 
returned.  Found  it  impossible  to  pass  the  Embarras  River.  We  found 
the  water  falling,  from  a  small  spot  of  ground.  Stayed  there  the  remainder 
of  the  night.  Drizzly  and  dark  weather. 

18th.  At  break  of  day,  heard  Governor  Hamilton's  morning  guns. 
Set  off  and  marched  down  the  river.  Saw  some  fine  lands.  About  two 
o'clock  came  to  the  bank  of  the  Wabash.  Made  rafts  for  four  men  to 
cross  and  go  up  to  town  and  steal  boats,  but  they  spent  the  day  and  night 
in  the  water  to  no  purpose,  for  there  was  not  a  foot  of  dry  land  to  be 
found. 

19th.  Captain  McCarty's  company  set  to  making  a  canoe.  At  three 
o'clock  the  four  men  returned,  after  spending  the  night  on  some  old  logs 
in  the  water.  The  canoe  finished.  Captain  McCarty  with  three  of  his 
men  embarked  in  the  canoe,  and  made  the  next  attempt  to  steal  boats. 
But  he  soon  returned,  having  discovered  four  large  fires  about  a  league 
distant  from  our  camp,  that  seemed  to  him  to  be  fires  of  whites  and  In 
dians.  Immediately  Colonel  Clark  sent  two  men  in  the  canoe,  down  to 
meet  the  Batteau,  with  orders  to  come  on  day  and  night,  that  being  our 
last  hope  from  starving.  Many  of  the  men  much  cast  down,  particularly 
the  volunteers,  No  provision  of  any  sort  for  two  days.  Hard  fortune, 


384  NOTES   TO  CHAPTER  III. 

20th.  Camp  very  quiet,  but  hungry.  Many  of  the  Creoles,  volunteers, 
talking  of  returning.  Fell  to  making  more  canoes,  when  about  12  o'clock 
our  sentry  brought  to,  a  boat  with  five  Frenchmen  from  the  post,  who 
told  us  we  were  not  as  yet  discovered ;  that  the  inhabitants  were  well 
pleased  towards  us,  &c. 

Captain  Willing's  brother,  who  was  taken  in  the  fort,  had  made  his 
escape  to  us,  and  said  that  one  Masonville,  with  a  party  of  Indians,  were 
then  seven  days  in  pursuit  of  him,  with  much  news,  more  news  in  our 
favour,  such  as  repairs  done  to  the  fort,  &c.  They  informed  us  of  two 
canoes  they  had  seen  adrift  some  distance  above  us.  Ordered  Captain 
Worthington,  with  a  party  of  men,  to  go  in  search  of  them.  Returned 
late  with  one  only.  One  of  our  men  killed  a  deer,  which  was  distributed 
in  the  camp  very  acceptably. 

21st.  At  break  of  day  began  to  ferry  our  men  over  in  our  two  canoes, 
to  small  hills  called  Mamelles,  or  breasts.  Captain  Williams  with  two 
men  went  to  look  for  a  passage  ;  but  were  discovered  by  two  men  in  a 
canoe,  but  could  not  bring  them  to.  The  whole  army  being  over,  we 
thought  to  get  to  town  that  night,  so,  plunged  into  the  water,  sometimes 
to  the  neck,  for  more  than  a  league,  when  we  stopped  on  the  next  hill  of 
the  same  name,  there  being  no  dry  land  on  any  side  for  many  leagues. 
Our  pilot  says  we  cannot  get  along — that  it  was  impossible.  The  whole 
army  being  over,  we  encamped.  Ilain  all  this  day.  No  provisions. " 

From  the  same  journal,  the  following  note  is  made  by  Perkins : — 
"During  the  conference  at  the  church,  some  Indian  warriors  who  had 
been  sent  to  the  Falls  of  the  Ohio,  for  scalps  and  prisoners,  were  disco 
vered  on  their  return,  as  they  entered  the  plains  near  Post  Vincennes.  A 
party  of  the  American  troops  commanded  by  Captain  Williams  went  out 
to  meet  them.  The  Indians,  who  mistook  this  detachment  for  a  party  of 
their  friends,  continued  to  advance,  with  all  the  parade  of  successful  war 
riors."  "Our  men,"  says  Major  Bowman,  "killed  two  on  the  spot: 
wounded  three  ;  took  six  prisoners,  and  brought  them  into  town.  Two 
of  them  proved  to  be  whites  ;  we  released  them  and  brought  the  Indians 
to  the  main  street  before  the  fort-gate  ;  there  tomahawked  them,  and 
threw  them  into  the  river."  (Major  Bowman's  MS.  journal.) 


NOTE  I.    Page  170. 

A  search  into  the  old  journals  of  Congress  on  the  subject  of  the  cession 
by  the  States  of  the  western  lands,  for  the  common  benefit,  and  the  fu 
ture  disposition  of  the  territory  by  the  United  States,  will  produce  eome 


NOTE  K.— ORDINANCE  OF  1787.  335 

curious  information.  In  April,  1784,  a  plan  for  the  temporary  govern 
ment  of  the  newly  acquired  territory  was  reported  by  Mr.  Jefferson ;  it 
contained  a  provision  prohibiting  slavery  northwest  of  the  Ohio,  after  the 
year  1800  ;  and  this  was  the  origin  of  the  anti-slavery  article  embodied 
in  the  ordinance  of  1787,  and  so  often  referred  to  in  political  writings 
and  in  congressional  debate.  Mr.  Jefferson  was  in  France  as  Minister 
in  1785-6-7,  when  the  subject  of  the  future  government  was  often  under 
discussion  in  Congress.  It  has  been  generally  conceded,  that  to  Nathan 
Dane,  of  Massachusetts,  belongs  the  honour  of  having  drawn  up  the  ordi 
nance  of  1787,  and  of  having  been  one  of  the  most  strenuous  supporters 
of  the  anti-slavery  proviso  ;  but  the  original  paternity  of  this  important 
clause  must  in  all  juctice  be  ascribed  to  the  apostle  of  liberty,  Thomas 
Jefferson  ;  later  times,  later  events,  and  a  later  application  of  the  princi 
ples  of  the  renowned  sixth  article  of  the  ordinance  of  1787,  have  con 
spired  to  wrest  the  deserved  honours  from  Jefferson  and  Dane,  and  to 
obscure  its  origin  by  giving  it  the  name  of  the  "  Wilmot  proviso." 

On  the  19th  of  April,  1784,  Mr.  Spaight,  of  North  Carolina,  moved  to 
strike  from  Mr.  Jefferson's  plan,  the  clause  prohibiting  slavery  after  1800, 
which  motion  prevailed.  From  that  day  until  the  23d,  the  plan  was 
debated  and  altered,  and  then  passed  unanimously,  with  the  exception  of 
South  Carolina.  By  this  proposition,  the  territory  was  to  have  been  di 
vided  into  States,  by  parallels  of  latitude,  and  meridian  lines  ;  this  it  was 
thought  would  have  made  ten  States,  which  were  to  have  been  named  aa 
follows,  beginning  at  the  northwest  corner  and  going  southwardly: — 
Sylvania,  Michigania,  Chersonesus,  Assenisipia,  Mesopotamia,  Illinoia, 
Saratoga, Washington,  Polypotamia,  and  Pelesipia.  Surely,  (says  Sparks,) 
the  hero  of  Mount  Vernon  must  have  shuddered  to  find  himself  in  such 
company. 


NOTE  K.     Page  173. 

THE  substance  of  the  following  note  is  taken  from  the  remarks  of  Mr. 
Benton,  of  Missouri^*  made  in  the  House  of  Congress  on  the  25th  of 
April,  1854,  on  the  subject  of  the  provisions  of  the  "Nebraska  Bill;" 
the  remarks  exhibit  in  a  lucid  view  the  character  and  effect  of  the  several 
compromises  on  the  subject  of  slavery,  which  have  their  particular  bear 
ing  on  the  north-western  portion  of  the  Union.  Its  importance  may 
justify  this  note. 

"  There  are  three  slavery  compromises  in  our  history,  which  connect 
themselves  with  the  foundation  and  preservation  of  this  Union.  First, 

the  territorial  partition  ordinance  of  1787,  with  its  clause  for  the  recovery 
VOL.  I.— 25 


386  NOTES  TO  CHAPTER  III. 

of  fugitive  slaves ;  secondly,  the  contemporaneous  constitutional  recog 
nition  of  slavery,  in  the  States  which  chose  to  have  it,  with  the  fugitive 
slave  recovery  clause  in  the  same  instrument;  thirdly,  the  Missouri 
partition  line  of  1820,  with  the  same  clause  annexed  for  the  recovery  of 
fugitive  slaves. 

"All  three  of  these  compromises  are  part  and  parcel  of  the  same  policy  j 
and  neither  of  them  could  have  been  formed  without  the  other,  nor  either 
of  them  without  the  fugitive  slave  recovery  clause  incorporated  in  it. 
The  anti  slavery  clause  in  the  ordinance  of  1787  could  not  have  been 
adopted,  (as  was  proved  by  its  three  years'  rejection,)  without  the  fugitive 
slave  recovery  clause  added  to  it ;  the  constitution  could  not  have  been 
formed  without  its  recognition  of  slavery  in  the  States  which  chose  it, 
and  the  guarantee  of  the  right  to  recover  slaves  fleeing  into  the  free 
States  ;  the  Missouri  controversy  could  not  have  been  settled  without  a 
partition  of  Louisiana  between  free  and  slave  soil ;  and  that  partition 
could  not  have  been  made  without  the  addition  of  the  same  clause  for 
the  recovery  of  fugitive  slaves.  Thus  all  three  compromises  are  set 
tlements  of  existing  questions,  and  intended  to  be  perpetual.  They  are 
all  three  of  equal  moral  validity  ;  the  constitutional  compromise  is 
guarded  by  a  higher  obligation,  in  consequence  of  its  incorporation  in- 
that  instrument ;  but  it  in  no  way  differs  from  the  other  two,  in  the  cir 
cumstances  which  induced  it,  the  policy  which  guards  it,  or  the  conse 
quences  which  would  flow  from  its  abrogation.  A  proposition  to  destroy 
the  slavery  compromises  in  the  constitution,  would  be  an  open  proposition 
to  break  up  the  Union  ;  the  attempt  to  abrogate  the  compromises  of  1787 
and  1820,  would  be  virtual  attempts  to  destroy  the  harmony  of  the  Union, 
and  prepare  it  for  dissolution  by  destroying  the  confidence  and  affection 
in  which  it  is  founded. 

"  The  Missouri  compromise  of  1820  is  a  continuation  of  the  ordinance 
of  1787 — its  extension  to  the  since-acquired  territory  west  of  the  Missis 
sippi  ;  and  no  way  differing  from  it,  either  in  principle  or  in  detail.  The 
ordinance  of  1787  divided  the  then  territory  of  the  United  States  about 
equally  between  the  free  and  slave  States;  the  Missouri  compromise  lino 
did  the  same  by  the  additional  territory  of  the  United  States  as  it  stood 
in  1820 :  and  in  both  cases  it  was  done  by  act  of  Congress,  and  was  the 
settlement  of  a  difficulty  which  was  to  last  for  ever.  They  are  both, 
with  their  fugitive  slave  recovery  clauses,  and  the  similar  clause  in  the 
constitution,  part  and  parcel  of  the  same  transaction — different  articles 
in  the  same  general  settlement.  Thus  the  three  measures  are  one,  and 
the  ordinance  of  1787  father  of  the  other  two.  It  led  to  the  adoption  of  the 
fugitive  slave  clause  in  the  constitution,  and  we  may  say,  to  the  formation 
<of  the  constitution  itself,  which  could  not  have  been  adopted  without  that 


NOTE  K.— ORDINANCE  OF  1787.  38T 

clause,  and  the  recognition  of  slave  property  in  which  it  was  founded. 
This  vital  fact  results  of  itself  from  the  history  of  the  case.  In  March, 
of  the  year  1784,  the  Virginia  delegation  in  the  then  Congress  of  the 
confederation,  headed  by  Mr.  Jefferson  and  Mr.  Monroe,  conveyed  the 
north-western  territory  to  the  thirteen  United  States.  In  the  month  of 
April  ensuing,  the  organizing  mind  of  Mr.  Jefferson,  always  bent  upon 
systems  and  administration,  brought  in  an  ordinance  for  the  government  - 
of  the  territory  so  conveyed,  with  the  anti-slavery  clause  as  a  part  of  it, 
to  take  effect  in  the  year  1800  ;  but  without  a  clause  for  the  recovery  of 
fugitive  slaves.  For  the  want  of  this  provision,  the  anti-slavery  clause 
was  opposed  by  the  slave-holding  States,  and  rejected;  and  the  ordinance 
passed  without  it.  In  July,  of  the  year  1787,  the  ordinance  was  remodelled ; 
the  anti-slave  clause,  with  the  fugitive  slave  recovery  clause,  as  they  now 
stand,  were  inserted  in  it;  and,  in  that  shape,  the  ordinance  had  the 
unanimous  vote  of  every  State  present — eight  in  the  whole — and  an 
equal  number  of  slave  and  free  States  present.  Thus  it  is  clear  that  the 
anti-slavery  clause  in  the  ordinance  of  1787,  could  not  have  passed  without 
the  fugitive  slave  recovery  clause  annexed.  They  were  inseparable  in 
their  birth,  uud  must  be  so  in  their  life  ;  and  those  who  love  one,  must- 
accept  the  other. 

"  This  was  done  in  the  month  of  July,  in  the  city  of  New  York,  where 
the  Congress  of  the  confederation  then  sat.  The  National  Convention 
was  sitting  at  the  same  time,  in  the  city  of  Philadelphia,  at  work  upon 
the  Federal  Constitution.  The  two  bodies  were  in  constant  communication 
with  each  other,  and  some  leading  members  (as  Mr.  Madison  and 
General  Hamilton)  were  members  of  each,  <°und  attending  by  turns  in 
each.  The  constitution  was  finished  in  September,  and  received  the 
fugitive  foluve  recovery  clause  immediately  after  its  insertion  in  the  ordi 
nance.  It  was  the  work  of  the  same  hands,  and  at  the  same  time,  in 
both  instruments  ;  find  it  i.s  well  known  that  the  constitution  could  not 
have  been  formed  without  that  clause.  Thus  the  compromise!  clause  in 
the  ordinance  is  father  to  the  compromise  clause  in  the  constitution,  and 
the  Missouri  compromise  results  from  both.  All  three  are  founded  in 
the  same  circumstances,  induced  by  the  same  considerations,  and  directed 
by  the  same  policy — that  of  the  peace,  harmony,  and  perpetuity  of  this 
Union." 

In  the  memorable  debate  in  the  Senate  of  the  United  States,  in  Janu 
ary,  1830,  Mr.  Webster,  in  reply  to  Mr.  Ilayne,  took  occasion  to  advert 
to  the  ordinance  of  1787,  giving  full  credit  to  both  Mr.  Jefferson  and  to 
Nathan  Dane,  fur  their  framing,  modifying,  and  supporting  that  instru 
ment,  and  the  very  important  principles  contained  in  it.  In  the  course 


388  NOTES  TO  CHAPTER  III. 

of  his  remarks,  speaking  of  the  provision  introduced  by  Mr.  Jefferson  in 
1784,  viz.,  "  that,  after  the  year  1800,  there  shall  be  neither  slavery,  nor 
involuntary  servitude  in  any  of  the  said  States,  otherwise  than  in  punish 
ment  of  crimes,  of  which  the  party  shall  have  been  duly  convicted/'  he 
observes  that  Mr.  Spaight  moved  to  strike  out  this  paragraph ;  on  the 
question,  "  Shall  these  words  stand  as  part  of  the  plan  ?"  &c.,  seven 
States,  New  Hampshire,  Massachusetts,  llhode  Island,  Connecticut,  New 
York,  New  Jersey,  and  Pennsylvania,  voted  in  the  affirmative  ;  three 
States,  Maryland,  Virginia,  and  South  Carolina,  voted  in  the  negative ; 
and  North  Carolina  was  divided.  As  the  consent  of  nine  States  was 
necessary,  the  words  could  not  stand,  and  were  struck  out  accordingly. 
Mr.  Jefferson  voted  for  the  clause,  but  was  overruled  by  his  colleagues. 

In  March,  1785,  Mr.  King,  of  Massachusetts,  seconded  by  Mr.  Ellery, 
of  llhode  Island,  proposed  the  formerly  rejected  article,  with  this  addi 
tion,  "  and  that  this  regulation  shall  be  an  article  of  compact,  and  remain 
a  fundamental  principle  of  the  constitution  between  the  thirteen  original 
States,  and  each  of  the  States,  as  described  in  the  Resolve/'  &c.  On  this 
clause,  which  provided  the  adequate  and  thorough  security,  the  eight 
northern  States  at  that  time  voted  affirmatively,  and  the  four  southern 
States  negatively.  The  votes  of  nine  States  were  not  yet  obtained,  and 
thus  the  provision  was  again  rejected  by  the  southern  States.  The 
perseverance  of  the  north  held  out,  and  two  years  afterward  the  object 
was  attained. 

The  ordinance  of  1787  expresses  just  sentiments  on  the  great  subject 
of  civil  and  religious  liberty;  such  sentiments  were  common,  and  abound 
in  the  state  papers  of  that  day.  But  this  ordinance  did  that  which  was 
not  so  common,  and  which  is  not,  even  now,  universal.  It  set  forth  and 
declared  as  a  high  and  binding  duly  of  govcrnme?it  itself,  to  encourage 
schools  and  advance  the  means  of  education ;  on  the  plain  reason,  that 
religion,  morality,  and  knowledge  are  necessary  to  good  government, 
and  to  the  happiness  of  mankind.  One  observation  further :  the  important 
provision  incorporated  into  the  constitution  of  the  United  States,  and 
several  of  those  of  the  States,  restraining  legislative  power,  in  questions 
of  private  right,  and  from  impairing  the  obligation  of  contracts,  is  first 
introduced  and  established,  (as  far  as  I  am  informed,)  as  matter  of  ex 
pressed,  written,  constitutional  law,  in  this  ordinance  of  1787. 


NOTES  TO  CHAPTER  IY. 

NOTE  A.     Page  178. 

WAYNE'S   VICTORY. 

These  two  posts  were  not  the  only  ones  which  the  British  occupied 
in  derogation  of  the  treaty ;  others  also  were  withheld,  and  new  places 
of  defence  erected. 

The  following  correspondence  between  the  British  commander  of  a 
fort  on  the  Maumee,  and  General  Anthony  Wayne,  the  day  after  the 
victory  of  the  latter  over  the  confederated  Indians,  on  the  Maumee,  will 
be  interesting,  as  showing  the  feelings  of  the  American  commander  at 
the  unwarrantable  retention  and  occupation  of  the  frontier  posts  by  the 
British ;  and  the  slight  thread  upon  which  hung,  at  that  time,  the  event 
of  a  renewal  of  hostilities  between  the  United  States  and  Great  Britain. 
Very  little  was  wanting  of  provocation  on  the  part  of  Major  Campbell, 
to  have  induced  Wayne  to  attack  the  fort,  and  add  its  destruction  to  that 
of  the  property  of  the  Indians  in  the  vicinity,  and  even  within  pistol- 
shot  of  the  fort.  General  Wayne,  in  his  report  says,  "  the  garrison  were 
compelled  to  remain  tacit  spectators  to  this  general  devastation  and  con 
flagration,  among  which  were  the  houses,  stores,  and  property  of  Colonel 
McKee,  the  British  Indian  Agent,  and  principal  stimulator  of  the  war 
now  existing  between  the  United  States  and  the  savages/'  Marshall,  in 
his  Life  of  Washington,  remarks  that  "  hostilities  were  only  avoided  by 
the  prudent  acquiescence  of  the  British  commander,  in  this  devastation 
of  property,  within  the  range  of  his  guns." 

Correspondence  reported  6y  General  Wayne. 
No.  I. 

MIAMI,  Maumee  River,  August  21st,  1794. 

Sir — An  army  of  the  United  States  of  America,  said  to  be  under  your 
Command,  having  taken  post  on  the  banks  of  the  Miami,  (Maumee,)  for 
upwards  of  the  last  twenty-four  hours,  almost  within  the  reach  of  the 
guns  of  this  fort,  being  a  post  belonging  to  his  majesty  the  King  of 
Great  Britain,  occupied  by  his  majesty's  troops,  and  which  I  have  the 
honour  to  command,  it  becomes  my  duty  to  inform  myself,  as  speedily 
as  possible,  in  what  light  I  am  to  view  your  making  such  near  approaches 


390  NOTES   TO   CHAPTER  IV. 

to  this  garrison.     I  have  no  hesitation,  on  my  part,  to  say,  that  I  know 
of  no  war  existing  between  Great  Britain  and  America. 

I  have  the  honour  to  be,  sir,  with  great  respect,  your  most  obedient 
and  very  humble  servant, 

WILLIAM  CAMPBELL, 
Major  24th  Regiment,  commanding  a  British  post  on  the  banks  of 

the  Miami. 
"To  MAJOR-GENERAL  WAYNE,  &c. 

No.  II. 
CAMP  ON  THE  BANK  OF  THE  MIAMI,  (Maumee,) 

August  21st,  1794. 

Sir — I  have  received  your  letter  of  this  date,  requiring  from  me  the 
motives  which  have  moved  the  army  under  my  command  to  the  position 
ihey  at  present  occupy,  far  within  the  acknowledged  jurisdiction  of  the 
United  States  of  America.  Without  questioning  the  authority  or  the 
propriety,  sir,  of  your  interrogatory,  I  think  I  may,  without  breach  of 
decorum,  observe  to  you,  that  were  you  entitled  to  an  answer,  the  most 
full  and  satisfactory  one  was  announced  to  you  from  the  muzzles  of  my 
.small  arms,  yesterday  morning,  in  the  action  against  the  horde  of  savages 
in  the  vicinity  of  your  post,  which  terminated  gloriously  to  the  Ameri 
can  arms  ;  but  had  it  continued  until  the  Indians,  &c.  were  driven  un- 
-der  the  influence  of  the  post  and  guns  you  mention,  they  would  not 
liave  much  impeded  the  progress  of  the  victorious  army  under  my  com 
mand,  as  no  such  post  was  established  at  the  commencement  of  the 
present  war  between  the  Indians  and  the  United  States. 

I  have  the  honour  to  be,  sir,  with  great  respect,  your  most  obedient 
and  very  humble  servant, 

ANTHONY  WAYNE, 

Major-general  and  Commander-in-chief  of  the  Federal  Army. 
To  MAJOR  CAMPBELL,  &c. 

No.  III. 

FORT  MIAMI,  August  22d,  1794. 

Sir — Although  your  letter  of  yesterday's  date  fully  authorizes  me  to 
any  act  of  hostility  against  the  army  of  the  United  States  in  this  neigh 
bourhood  under  your  command,  yet,  still  anxious  to  prevent  that  dread 
ful  decision  which,  perhaps,  is  not  intended  to  be  appealed  to  by  either 
•of  our  countries,  I  have  forborne,  for  these  two  days  past,  to  resent  those 
insults  you  have  offered  to  the  British  flag  flying  at  this  fort,  by  ap 
proaching  it  within  pistol-shot  of  my  works,  not  singly,  but  in  numbers, 
with  arms  in  their  hands.  Neither  is  it  my  wish  to  wage  war  with  in- 


NOTE  A.— WAYNE'S  VICTORY. 

•dividuals  ;  but,  should  you,  after  this,  continue  to  approach  my  post  in 
the  threatening  manner  you  are  at  this  moment  doing,  my  indispensable 
duty  to  my  king  and  country,  and  the  honour  of  my  profession,  will 
oblige  me  to  have  recourse  to  those  measures,  which  thousands  of  either 
nation  may  hereafter  have  cause  to  regret,  and  which,  I  solemnly  appeal 
to  God,  I  have  used  my  utmost  endeavours  to  arrest. 

I  have  the  honour  to  be,  sir,  with  much  respect,  your  most  obedient 
and  very  humble  servant, 

WILLIAM  CAMPBELL, 
Major  24th  Regiment,  commanding  at  Fort  Miami. 

MAJOR-GENERAL  WAYNE,  &c. 

No.  IV. 
CAMP,  BANKS  OF  THE  MIAMI,  22d  August,  1794. 

Sir — In  your  letter  of  the  21st  instant,  you  declare,  "  I  have  no  hesi 
tation  on  my  part  to  say,  that  I  know  of  no  war  existing  between  Great 
Britain  and  America."  I,  on  my  part,  declare  the  same,  and  that  the 
only  cause  I  have  to  entertain  a  contrary  idea  at  present,  is  the  hostile 
act  you  are  now  in  commission  of,  i.  e.  by  recently  taking  post  far  within 
the  well-known,  and  acknowledged  limits  of  the  United  States,  and  erect 
ing  a  fortification  in  the  heart  of  the  settlements  of  the  Indian  tribes 
now  at  war  with  the  United  States.  This,  sir,  appears  to  be  an  act  of 
the  highest  aggression,  and  destructive  to  the  peace  and  interest  of  tho 
Union.  Hence  it  becomes  my  duty  to  desire,  and  I  do  hereby  desire 
and  demand,  in  the  name  of  the  President  of  the  United  States,  that 
you  immediately  desist  from  any  further  act  of  hostility  or  aggression, 
by  forbearing  to  fortify,  and  by  withdrawing  the  troops,  artillery,  and 
stores  under  your  orders  and  direction,  forthwith,  and  removing  to  the 
nearest  post  occupied  by  his  Britanic  majesty's  troops  at  the  peace  of 
1783,  and  which  you  will  be  permitted  to  do,  unmolested  by  the  troops 
under  my  command. 

I  am,  with  very  great  respect,  sir,  your  most  obedient  and  very  hum 
ble  servant, 

ANTHONY  WAYNE. 

MAJOR  WILLIAM  CAMPBELL,  &c. 

No.V. 

FORT  MIAMI,  22d  August,  1794. 

Sir — I  have  this  moment  to  acknowledge  the  receipt  of  your  letter  of 
this  date  ;  in  answer  to  which  I  have  only  to  say,  that,  being  placed 
.here  in  command  of  a  British  post,  and  acting  in  a  military  capacity 
•  only,  I  cannot  enter  into  any  discussion  either  on  the  right  or  impro- 


392  NOTES   TO   CHAPTER  IV. 

priety  of  my  occupying  my  present  position.     Those  are  matters  that  I 
conceive  will  be  best  left  to  the  ambassadors  of  our  different  nations. 

Having  said  this  much,  permit  me  to  inform  you  that  I  certainly  will 
not  abandon  this  post,  at  the  summons  of  any  power  whatever,  until  I 
receive  orders  for  that  purpose  from  those  I  have  the  honour  to  serve 
under,  or  the  fortune  of  war  should  oblige  me.  I  must  still  adhere,  sir, 
to  the  purport  of  nSy  letter  this  morning,  to  desire  that  your  army,  or 
individuals  belonging  to  it,  will  not  approach  within  reach  of  my  cannon, 
without  expecting  the  consequences  attending  it. 

Although  I  have  said  in  the  former  part  of  my  letter,  that  my  situa 
tion  here  is  totally  military,  yet,  let  me  add,  sir,  that  I  am  much  deceived, 
if  his  majesty  the  King  of  Great  Britain  had  not  a  post  on  this  river, 
at  and  prior  to  the  period  you  mention. 

I  have  the  honour  to  be,  sir,  with  the  greatest  respect,  your  most  obe 
dient  and  very  humble  servant, 

WILLIAM  CAMPBELL, 
Major  24th  Regiment,  commanding  at  Fort  Miami, 

To  MAJOR-GENERAL  WAYNE,  &c. 

The  only  notice  taken  of  this  letter  was  by  immediately  setting  fire  to 
and  destroying  every  thing  within  view  of  the  fort,  and  even  under  the 
muzzles  of  the  guns.  Had  Mr.  Campbell  carried  his  threats  into  execu 
tion,  it  is  more  than  probable  he  would  have  experienced  a  storm.  (Re 
mark  in  Dunlap  &  Claypole's  Am.  Daily  Adver.,  October  3d,  1794.) 


NOTE  B.     Page  186. 

In  the  testimony  given  by  Major  Ferguson,  in  the  investigation  of  the 
causes  of  Harmar's  defeat,  is  found  the  following  account  of  the  militia 
drafted  from  Kentucky.  (See  American  State  Papers,  vol.  xii.  20.) 

"  They  were  very  ill  equipped,  being  almost  destitute  of  camp  kettles 
and  axes,  nor  could  a  supply  of  these  essential  articles  be  procured. 
Their  arms  were  generally  very  bad  and  unfit  for  service.  *  *  *  They 
came  under  my  inspection  in  making  repairs ;  as  a  specimen,  one  rifle 
was  brought  to  be  repaired  without  a  lock,  and  another  without  a  stock. 
*  *  *  They  were  told  in  Kentucky  that  all  repairs  would  be  made  at 
Fort  Washington.  *  *  The  general  had  many  difficulties  to  encounter 
in  organizing  the  Kentucky  militia  on  their  arrival.  Colonel  Trotter 
•aspired  to  the  command,  although  Colonel  Hardin  was  the  eldest  officer, 
and  in  this  he  was  encouraged  both  by  men  and  officers,  who  openly 


NOTE   C.—  IIARMAR'S   DEFEAT.  393 

declared,  unless  Colonel  Trotter  commanded  them  they  would  return 
home.  After  two  or  three  days,  the  business  was  settled,  and  the  Ken 
tucky  men  were  formed  into  three  battalions  under  the  command  of 
Colonel  Trotter,  and  Colonel  Ilardin  had  the  command  of  all  the  militia, 
both  Pennsylvania  and  Virginia.  *  '•  *  The  last  of  the  Pennsylvania 
militia  arrived  on  the  25th  of  September;  they  were  equipped  nearly  as 
the  Kentucky,  but  were  worse  armed,  several  were  without  any.  *  *  * 
The  general  ordered  all  the  arms  in  store  to  be  delivered  to  those  who 
had  none,  and  those  whose  guns  could  not  be  repaired.  Among  the 
militia  were  a  great  many  hardly  able  to  bear  arms,  such  as  old,  infirm 
men,  and  young  boys  ;  they  were  not  such  as  might  be  expected  from  a 
frontier  country,  smart,  active  woodsmen,  well  accustomed  to  arms,  eager 
and  alert  to  revenge  the  injuries  done  them  and  their  connections  ;  no, 
there  were  a  great  many  of  them  substitutes,  who  probably  had  never 
fired  a  gun.  Major  Paul,  of  Pennsylvania,  told  me  that  many  of  his  men 
were  so  awkward,  that  they  could  not  take  their  gun-locks  off  to  oil  them 
and  put  them  on  again,  nor  could  they  put  in  their  flints  so  as  to  be  use 
ful  ;  and  even  of  such  materials,  the  numbers  came  far  short  of  what  was 
ordered,  as  may  be  seen  by  the  returns. 


NOTE  C.     Page  187. 

The  troops  were  organized  and  moved  forward  as  follows  : — 
The  Kentuckians  composed  three  battalions,  under  the  Majors  Hall, 
McMullen,  and  Ray,  with  Lieutentant-colonel  Commandant  Trotter,  at 
their  head.  The  Pennsylvanians  were  formed  into  one  battalion  under 
Lieutenant-colonel  Trubley,  and  Major  Paul,  the  whole  to  be  commanded 
by  Colonel  John  Hardin,  subject  to  the  orders  of  General  Harmar.  The 
30th,  the  general  having  got  forward  all  the  supplies  that  he  expected, 
he  moved  out  with  the  Federal  troops,  formed  into  two  small  battalions 
under  the  immediate  command  of  Major  "Wyllys  and  Major  Doughty, 
together  with  Captain  Ferguson's  company  of  artillery,  and  three  pieces 
of  ordnance.  On  the  3d  of  October,  General  Harmar  joined  the  advanced 
troops  early  in  the  morning ;  the  remaining  part  of  the  day  was  spent 
in  forming  the  line  of  march,  the  order  of  encampment,  and  battle,  and 
explaining  the  same  to  the  militia  field-officers.  On  the  4th,  the  army 
took  up  the  order  of  march  ;  and  on  the  5th  a  reinforcement  of  horsemen 
and  mounted  infantry,  joined,  from  Kentucky.  The  dragoons  were 
formed  into  two  troops  ;  the  mounted  riflemen  made  a  company,  and  this 
small  battalion  of  light  troops  were  put  under  the  command  of  Major 
Fontaine. 


394  NOTES   TO   CHAPTER  IV. 

The  whole  of  General  Harmar's  command,  then,  may  be  stated  thus : — 

Three  battalions  of  Kentucky  militia,  ^| 

One  "          of  Pennsylvania  militia,  j>  Total,        1133 

One  "          of  light  troops  mounted,  militia,  j 

Two  battalions  of  Federal  troops,  320 

Grand  total,  1453 l 


NOTE  D.    Page  188. 

The  utter  want  of  discipline  in  the  army,  may  be  conceived  from  the 
perusal  of  the  following  extracts  from  the  evidence  of  Captain  Armstrong, 
(then  lieutenant,)  which  was  given  before  the  court  of  inquiry.  Lieu 
tenant  Armstrong  was  with  Colonel  Trotter  during  the  18th  of  October, 
and  also  with  Colonel  Hardin  on  the  19th,  when  the  encounter  with  the 
Indians  occurred.  (See  American  State  Papers,  xii.  26.) 

On  the  18th  of  October,  says  Armstrong,  after  we  had  proceeded  about 
a  mile,  the  cavalry  gave  chase  to  an  Indian,  who  was  mounted  ;  him  they 
overtook  and  killed.  Before  they  returned  to  the  column,  a  second  ap 
peared,  on  which  the  four  field  officers  left  their  commands  and  pursued, 
leaving  the  troops  near  half  an  hour  without  any  directions  whatever. 
The  cavalry  came  across  the  second  Indian,  and,  after  he  had  wounded 
one  of  their  party,  killed  him  also.  When  the  infantry  came  up  to  this 
place  they  immediately  fell  into  confusion,  upon  which  I  gained  permis 
sion  to  leave  them  some  distance  on  the  road,  where  I  formed  an  ambus 
cade.  After  I  had  been  some  time  at  my  station,  a  fellow  on  horseback 
came  to  me,  who  had  lost  the  party  in  pursuit  of  the  first  Indian  ;  he  was 
much  frightened,  and  said  he  had  been  pursued  by  fifty  mounted  Indians. 
On  my  telling  this  story  to  Colonel  Trotter,  notwithstanding  my  observa 
tions  to  him,  he  changed  his  route,  and  marched  in  various  directions 
until  night,  when  he  returned  to  camp. 

On  our  arrival  in  camp,  General  Harmar  sent  for  me,  and  after  asking 
me  many  questions,  ordered  one  subaltern  and  twenty  militia  to  join  my 
command.  With  these  I  reached  the  river  St.  Joseph  about  ten  at  night, 
and  with  a  guide  proceeded  to  an  Indian  town,  about  two  miles  distant, 
•where  I  continued  with  my  party  until  the  morning  of  the  19th. 
About  nine  o'clock  I  joined  the  remainder  of  the  detach  merit  under 
Colonel  Hardin.  We  marched  on  the  route  Colonel  Trotter  had  pursued 
the  day  before,  and  after  passing  a  morass  about  five  miles  distant,  we 

1  American  State  Papers,  xii.  24. 


NOTE  D.— HARMAR'S  DEFEAT.  395 

came  to  where  the  enemy  had  encamped  the  day  before.  Here  we  made 
a  short  halt,  and  the  commanding  officer  disposed  of  the  parties  at  a  dis- 
'tance  from  each  other ;  after  a  halt  of  half  an  hour,  we  were  ordered  to 
move  on,  and  Captain  Faulkner's  company  was  left  on  the  ground  ;  the 
colonel  having  neglected  giving  him  orders  to  move  on. 

After  we  had  proceeded  about  three  miles  we  fell  in  with  two  Indians 
on  foot,  who  threw  off  their  packs,  and  the  brush  being  thick,  made  their 
escape.  I  then  asked  Colonel  Hardin  where  Captain  Faulkner  was  ?  He 
said  he  was  lost,  and  then  sent  Major  Fontaine  with  part  of  the  cavalry 
in  search  of  him,  and  moved  on  with  the  remainder  of  the  troops.  Some 
time  after  I  informed  Colonel  Hardin  that  a  gun  had  fired  in  our  front, 
'which  might  be  considered  as  as  alarm  gun,  and  that  I  saw  where  a  horse 
had  come  down  the  road  and  returned  again ;  but  the  colonel  still  moved 
on,  giving  no  orders,  nor  making  any  arrangements  for  an  attack.  Some 
time  after,  I  discovered  the  enemy's  fires  at  a  distance,  and  informed  the 
•colonel,  who  replied,  that  they  would  not  fight,  and  rode  in  front  of  the 
advance,  until  fired  on  from  behind  the  fires  ;  when  he,  the  colonel  re 
treated,  and  with  him  all  the  militia  except  nine,  who  continued  with 
ane,  and  were  instantly  killed,  with  twenty-four  of  the  Federal  troops  ; 
seeing  my  last  man  fall,  and  being  surrounded  by  the  savages,  I  threw 
myself  into  a  thicket,  and  remained  there  three  hours  in  daylight; 
•during  that  time  I  had  the  opportunity  of  seeing  the  enemy  pass  and 
repass,  and  conceived  their  numbers  did  not  amount  to  one  hundred  men ; 
eome  were  mounted,  others  armed  with  rifles,  and  the  advance  with 
tomahawks  only.  I  am  of  opinion  that  had  Colonel  Trotter  proceeded, 
on  the  18th,  agreeably  to  his  orders,  having  killed  the  enemy's  sentinels, 
lie  would  have  surprised  their  camp,  and  with  ease  defeated  them ;  or 
had  Colonel  Hardin  arranged  his  troops  or  made  any  military  disposition, 
on  the  19th,  that  he  would  have  gained  a  victory.  Our  defeat  I  therefore 
ascribed  to  two  causes  ;  the  unofficer-like  conduct  of  Colonel  Hardin, 
(who  I  believe  was  a  brave  man,)  and  the  cowardly  behaviour  of  the 
militia ;  many  of  them  threw  down  their  arms  loaded,  and  I  believe  that 
none,  except  the  party  under  my  command,  fired  a  gun. 

NOTE. — It  is  proper  to  add,  that  accounts  in  addition  to  this  state 
ment  of  Lieutenant  Armstrong,  say  that  he  was  in  a  swamp  or  pond  up 
to  his  neck.  (Butler,  192,  Cist's  Cincinnati  Miscellany,  i.  183.)  Other 
accounts  say  he  was  merely  concealed  in  the  swamp,  or  up  to  his  waist 
in  water.  (Gin.  Miscel.  i.  39.  McClung's  Sketches,  241.) 


396  NOTES   TO  CHAPTER  IV. 


NOTE  E.     Page  189. 

Captain  Asheton,  in  his  examination  before  the  court  of  inquiry, 
makes  tho  following  statement  of  the  occurrences  on  the  22dof  October; 
it  is  given  in  the  third  person,  but  here  changed  to  the  first,  as  Perkins 
has  it  in  his  Annals,  p.  342.  See  also  American  State  Papers,  xii.  28, 
34.  Cist's  Cincinnati  'Miscellany,  i.  183.  McClung's  Sketches,  241. 

The  detachment  marched  in  three  columns,  the  Federal  troops  in  the 
centre,  at  the  head  of  which  I  was  posted,  with  Major  Wyllys  and  Colonel 
Hardin  in  my  front;  the  militia  formed  the  columns  to  the  right  and 
left.  From  delays  occasioned  by  the  militia's  halting,  we  did  not  reach 
the  banks  of  the  Omee  (Maumee)  till  some  time  after  sunrise.  The 
spies  then  discovered  the  enemy,  and  reported  to  Major  Wyllys,  who/ 
halted  the  Federal  troops,  and  moved  the  militia  on,  some  distance  in 
front,  when  "he  gave  his  orders  and  plan  of  attack  to  the  several  com 
manding  officers  of  corps.  Those  orders  were  not  communicated  to  me. 
Major  Wyllys  reserved  the  command  of  the  Federal  troops  to  himself. 
Major  Hall,  with  his  battalion,  was  directed  to  take  a  circuitous  route 
round  the  bend  of  the  Omee  river,  cross  the  Pickaway  fork,  (or  St. 
Mary's,)  which  brought  him  directly  in  the  rear  of  the  enemy,  and  there 
wait  until  the  attack  should  commence  with  Major  MeMullen's  battalion, 
Major  Fontaine's  cavalry,  and  Major  Wyllys  with  the  Federal  troops, 
who  all  crossed  the  Omee  at,  and  near,  the  common  fording  place.  After 
the  attack  commenced,  the  troops  were  by  no  means  to  separate,  but 
were  to  embody,  or  the  battalions  to  support  each  other,  as  circumstances 
required.  From  this  disposition  it  appears  evident,  that  it  was  the  in 
tention  of  Major  Wyllys  to  surround  the  enemy,  and  that  if  Colonel 
Hall,  who  had  gained  his  ground  undiscovered,  had  not  wantonly  diso 
beyed  his  orders,  by  firing  on  a  single  Indian,  the  surprise  must  have 
been  complete.  The  Indians  then  fled  with  precipitation,  the  battalions 
pursuing  in  different  directions.  Major  Fontaine  made  a  charge  upon 
a  small  party  of  savages — he  fell,  the  first  fire,  and  his  troops  dispersed. 
The  Federal  troops,  who  were  then  left  unsupported,  became  an  easy 
sacrifice  to  much  the  largest  party  of  Indians  that  had  been  seen  that 
day.  It  is  my  opinion  that  the  misfortunes  of  that  day  were  owing  to 
the  separation  of  troops,  and  disobedience  of  orders.  After  the  Federal 
troops  were  defeated,  and  the  firing  in  all  quarters  nearly  ceased,  Colonel 
Hall  and  Major  McMullen,  with  their  battalions,  met  in  the  town,  and 
after  discharging,  cleaning,  and  fresh  loading  their  arms,  which  took  up 
about  half  an  hour,  proceeded  to  join  the  army  unmolested.  I  am  con 
vinced  that  the  detachment,  if  it  had  kept  embodied,  was  sufficient  to 


NOTE    F.—  OTHER   EXPEDITIONS.  397 

have  answered  the  fullest  expectations  of  the  general,  and  needed  no 
support;  but  I  was  informed  a  battalion  under  Major  Ray  was  ordered 
out  for  that  purpose. 

"  In  Hardin's  first  day's  encounter,  twenty-three  out  of  thirty  of  the 
regulars  in  Lieutenant  Armstrong's  company  were  killed;  the  remaining 
seven  made  their  way  back  to  camp.  In  the  second  fight,  Major  Wyllys, 
with  Lieutenant  Farthingham,  and  fifty  of  the  regulars,  were  left  dead 
on  the  field,  together  with  one  hundred  of  the  militia." 

NOTE. — These  battles  were  fought  on  ground  near  the  junction  of  the 
St.  Mary's  and  St.  Joseph's  Rivers,  the  site  of  Fort  Wayne ;  of  this 
fact  there  is  no  doubt,  but  some  authorities  might  lead  the  reader  into 
error  in  this  matter,  without  examination.  Marshall,  in  his  Life  of 
Washington,  says,  "the  attack  was  made  on  Hardin,  about  ten  miles 
•west  of  C/dllicotke,  where  the  main  body  of  the  army  lay."  Other  writers 
have  stated  the  same  matter  in  the  same  language.  But  it  must  be 
understood  that  the  Shawanese  had  several  locations  of  villages,  at  different 
periods,  each  of  which  was  called  "  Chillicothe ;"  this  being  with  them 
a  favourite  name.  It  is  sufficient  now,  to  know  that  the  battles  were  not 
fought  near  Chillicothe  on  the  Scioto,  this  being  the  only  "Chillicothe" 
known  at  this  day.  W.  II.  S. 


NOTE  F.     Page  193. 


- 


We  extract  the  following  remarks  on  these  several  movements  at  this 
period,  as  presenting  a  correct  summary  of  events  and  results  ;  they  are 
found  in  Perkins's  Annals,  353.  Colonel  Wilkinson,  in  his  report,  after 
destroying  the  Eel  Biver  town  and  cornfields,  says,  "  I  commenced  my 
inarch  for  the  Kickapoo  town  in  the  prairie."  Perkins  remarks — 

"  The  Kickapoo  prairie  metropolis  was  not  reached  ;  the  horses  were 
too  sore,  and  the  bogs  too  deep  ;  but  various  cornfields  were  destroyed, 
(Wilkinson  says  four  hundred  and  thirty  acres  of  corn,)  and  a  respect 
able  Kickapoo  town  given  to  the  flames  ;  for  which  the  general  was  duly 
thanked  by  his  country.  Meanwhile,  Proctor  was  attempting  to  hurry 
the  slow-moving  Iroquois,  who  told  him  it  took  them  a  great  while  to 
think,  (this  was  said  by  Red  Jacket;)  and  Wilkinson  was  floundering 
up  to  his  armpits  in  mud  and  water  among  the  morasses  of  the  Wabash ; 
(his  own  words  in  his  official  report;)  the  needful  preparations  were  con 
stantly  going  forward  for  the  great  expedition  of  St.  Clair,  which,  by  found 
ing  posts  throughout  the  Western  country  from  the  Ohio  to  Lake  Erie,  and 
especially  at  the  head  of  the  Maumee,  was  to  give  the  United  States  a  sure 
means  of  control  over  the  savages.  At  a  very  early  period,  (1785,)  the 


398  NOTES   TO   CHAPTER  IV. 

admirable  position  of  the  Miami  village  at  the  junction  of  the  St.  Mary 
and  St.  Joseph,  had  struck  Washington's  sagacious  mind,  as  we  know 
from  his  correspondence;  and  when  Ilarmar's  expedition  was  under 
taken,  one  purpose  of  it  would  doubtless  have  been  the  founding  of  a 
military  post  at  the  Miami  town,  had  it  been  compatible  with  the  public; 
finances.  But  Ilarmar's  defeat  having  proved  the  necessity  of  some 
strong  check  upon  the  northern  savages,  it  became  the  main  purpose  of 
the  effort  of  1791  to  build  a  fort  at  the  point  designated,  which  was  to 
be  connected  by  other  intermediate  stations,  with  Fort  Washington  and 
the  Ohio.  Of  this  we  have  proof  in  the  language  of  government  after 
St.  Glair's  defeat:  'The  great  object  of  the  campaign/  says  General 
Knox,  in  his  official  report  dated  December  26th,  1791,  'was  to  establish 
a  strong  military  post  at  the  Miami  village ;'  this  language  was  used 
more  than  once,  and  this  object,  too,  was  to  be  attained  if  possible,  even, 
at  the  expense  of  a  contest  which  might  be  otherwise  avoided." 


NOTE  G.     Page  195. 

We  make  the  following  extracts  from  the  official  report  of  General  St. 
Clair  to  the  secretary  of  war,  of  this  melancholy  affair.  (Am.  State 
Papers,  v.  137.) 

"  The  right  wing,  composed  of  Butler's,  Clarke's,  and  Patterson's  bat 
talions,  commanded  by  Major-general  Butler,  formed  the  first  line  ;  and 
the  left  wing,  consisting  of  Bedinger  and  Gaither's  battalions  and  the 
second  regiment,  commanded  by  Liutenant-colonel  Darke,  formed  the 
second  line,  with  an  interval  between  them  of  about  seventy  yards,  which 
was  all  the  ground  would  allow.  The  right  flank  was  pretty  well  secured 
by  the  creek  ;  a  steep  bank  and  Faulkner's  corps,  some  of  the  cavalry  and 
their  pickets,  covered  the  left  flank.  The  ntilitia  were  thrown  over  the- 
creek,  and  advanced  about  one-quarter  of  a  mile,  and  encamped  in  the 
same  order.  There  were  a  few  Indians  who  appeared  on  the  opposite 
side  of  the  creek,  but  fled  with  the  utmost  precipitation  on  the  advance 
of  the  militia.  At  this  place,  which  I  judged  to  be  about  fifteen  miles 
from  the  Miami  village,  I  determined  to  throw  up  a  slight  work,  the  plan 
of  which  was  concerted  that  evening  with  Major  Ferguson,  wherein  to 
have  deposited  the  men's  knapsacks,  and  every  thing  else  that  was  not 
of  absolute  necessity,  and  to  have  moved  on  to  attack  the  enemy  as  soon 
as  the  first  regiment  was  come  up.  But  they  did  not  permit  me  to  exe 
cute  either ;  for  on  the  4th,  about  half  an  hour  before  sunrise,  and  when 
the  men  had  just  been  dismissed  from  parade,  (for  it  was  constant  prac 
tice  to  liayO  them  all  under  arms  a  considerable  time  before  daylight,) 


NOTE    G.— ST.   CLAIR'S   DEFEAT.  399 

an  attack  was  made  upon  the  militia.  Those  gave  way  in  a  very  little 
time,  and  rushed  into  camp  through  Major  Butler's  battalion,  (which, 
together  with  a  part  of  Clarke's,  they  threw  into  considerable  disorder, 
and  which,  notwithstanding  the  exertions  of  both  those  officers,  was  never 
altogether  remedied,)  the  Indians  following  close  at  their  heels.  The  fire, 
however,  of  the  front  line,  checked  them ;  but  almost  instantly,  a  very 
heavy  attack  began  upon  that  line;  and  in  a  few  minutes  it  was  extended 
to  the  second  likewise.  The  great  weight  of  it  was  directed  against  the 
centre  of  each,  where  the  artillery  was  placed,  and  from  which  the  men, 
were  repeatedly  driven  with  great  slaughter.  Finding  no  great  effect 
from  our  fire,  and  confusion  beginning  to  spread,  from  the  great  number 
of  men  who  were  falling  in  all  quarters,  it  became  necessary  to  try  what 
could  be  done  by  the  bayonet.  Lieutenant-colonel  Darke  was  accord 
ingly  ordered  to  make  a  charge  with  part  of  the  second  line,  and  to  turn 
the  left  flank  of  the  enemy.  This  was  executed  with  great  spirit.  The 
Indians  instantly  gave  way,  and  were  driven  back  three  or  four  hundred 
yards;  but  for  want  of  a  sufficient  number  of  riflemen  to  pursue  this 
advantage,  they  soon  returned,  and  the  troops  were  obliged  to  give  back 
in  their  turn.  At  this  moment  they  had  entered  our  camp  by  the  left 
flank,  having  pushed  back  the  troops  that  were  posted  there.  Another 
charge  was  made  here  by  the  second  regiment,  Butler's  and  Clarke's  bat 
talions,  with  equal  effect,  and  it  was  repeated  several  times,  and  always 
with  success  ;  but  in  all  of  them  many  men  were  lost,  and  particularly 
the  officers,  which  with  so  raw  troops  was  a  loss  altogether  irremediable. 
In  that  I  just  spoke  of,  made  by  the  second  regiment  arid  Butler's  bat 
talion,  Major  Butler  was  dangerously  wounded,  and  every  officer  of  the 
second  regiment  fell  except  three,  one  of  whom,  Mr.  Grcaton,  was  shot 
through  the  body. 

"Our  artillery  being  now  silenced,  and  all  the  officers  killed  except 
Captain  Ford,  who  was  very  badly  wounded,  and  more  than  half  of  the 
army  fallen,  being  cut  off  from  the  road,  it  became  necessary  to  attempt 
the  regaining  it  and  to  make  a  retreat  if  possible.  To  this  purpose,  the 
remains  of  the  army  was  formed  as  well  as  circumstances  would  admit, 
toward  the  right  of  the  encampment,  from  which,  by  the  way  of  the  second 
line,  another  charge  was  made  upon  the  enemy,  as  if  with  the  design  to 
turn  their  right  flank,  but  in  fact  to  gain  the  road.  This  was  effected, 
and  as  soon  as  it  was  open,  tho  militia  took  along  it,  followed  by  the 
troops  ;  Major  Clarke  with  his  battalion  covering  the  rear. 

"  The  retreat,  in  those  circumstances,  was,  you  may  be  sure,  a  very 
precipitate  one.  It  was,  in  fact,  a  flight.  Tiie  camp  and  the  artillery 
were  abandoned ;  but  that  was  unavoidable,  for  not  a  horse  was  left 
alive  to  have  drawn  it  off,  had  it  otherwise  been  practicable.  But  the 


400  NOTES   TO   CHAPTER   IV. 

most  disgraceful  part  of  the  business  is,  that  the  greatest  part  of  the 
men  threw  away  their  arms  and  accoutrements,  even  after  the  pursuit, 
which  continued  four  miles,  had  ceased.  I  found  the  road  strewed  with 
them  for  many  miles,  but  was  not  able  to  remedy  it ;  for  having  had  all 
my  horses  killed,  and  being  mounted  upon  one  that  could  not  be  pricked 
out  of  a  walk,  I  could  not  get  forward  myself;  and  the  orders  I  sent  for 
ward  either  to  halt  the  front,  or  to  prevent  the  men  from  parting  with 
their  arms,  were  unattended  to.  The  rout  continued  quite  to  Fort  Jef 
ferson,  twenty-nine  miles,  which  was  reached  a  little  after  sun-setting. 
The  action  began  about  half  an  hour  before  sunrise,  and  the  retreat  was 
attempted  at  half  an  hour  after  nine  o'clock.  I  have  not  yet  been  able 
to  get  returns  of  the  killed  and  wounded ;  but  Major-general  Butler, 
Lieutenant-colonel  Oldham,  of  the  militia,  Major  Ferguson,  Major  Hart, 
and  Major  Clarke,  .are  among  the  former ;  Colonel  Sargent,  my  adjutant- 
general,  Lieutenant-colonel  Darke,  Lieutenant-colonel  Gibson,  Major 
Butler,  and  the  Viscount  Malartie,  who  served  me  as  an  aid-de-camp, 
are  among  the  latter ;  and  a  great  number  of  captains  and  subalterns 
in  both. 


NOTE  II.     Page  197. 

At  the  great  council  held  at  Sandusky,  Simon  Girty  acted  as  interpreter ; 
at  the  first  meeting,  many  chiefs  wished  to  know  distinctly,  and  merely, 
if  the  United  States  would  or  would  not  make  the  Ohio  the  boundary. 
To  this  inquiry  the  commissioners  replied  in  writing,  setting  forth  the 
American  claims,  the  grounds  of  them,  and  the  impossibility  of  making  the 
Ohio  the  line  of  settlement.  The  ultimata  of  the  Indians  is  contained  in 
the  following  speech  which  was  delivered  orally,  and  is  both  able  and 
characteristic.  We  give  it  entire  from  American  State  Papers,  v.  349. 

"  Brothers — We  are  all  brothers  you  see  here  now.  Brothers  :  It  is 
now  three  years  since  you  desired  to  speak  with  us.  We  heard  you  yes 
terday,  and  understood  you  well — perfectly  well.  We  have  a  few  words 
to  say  to  you.  Brothers :  You  mentioned  the  treaties  of  Fort  Stanwix, 
Beaver  Creek,  (Fort  Mclntosh,)  and  other  places.  Those  treaties  were 
not  complete.  There  were  but  a  few  chiefs  who  treated  with  you.  You 
have  not  bought  our  lands.  They  belong  to  us.  You  tried  to  draw  off 
some  of  us.  Brothers :  Many  years  ago,  we  all  know  that  the  Ohio  was 
made  the  boundary.  It  was  settled  by  Sir  William  Johnston.  This 
side  is  ours.  We  look  upon  it  as  our  property.  Brothers :  You  men 
tioned  General  Washington.  He  and  you  know  you  have  your  houses 


NOTE  I.— BRITISH  INTERFERENCE.  4Q1 

and  your  people  on  our  land.  You  say  you  cannot  move  them  off ;  and 
we  cannot  give  up  our  land.  Brothers :  We  are  sorry  we  cannot  come 
to  an  agreement.  The  line  has  been  fixed  long  ago.  Brothers:  We 
don't  say  much.  There  has  been  much  mischief  on  both  sides.  We 
came  here  upon  peace,  and  thought  you  did  the  same.  We  shall  talk  to 
our  head  warriors.  You  may  return  whence  you  came  and  tell  Wash 
ington." 

The  council  here  breaking  up,  Captain  Elliott  went  to  the  Shawanee 
chief,  Ka-kia-pilathy,  and  told  him  that  the  last  part  of  the  speech  was 
wrong.  That  chief  came  back,  and  said  it  was  wrong.  Girty  said  that 
he  had  interpreted  truly  what  the  Wyandot  chief  spoke.  An  explana 
tion  took  place;  and  Girty  added  as  follows :  "Brothers :  Instead  of  going 
home,  we  wish  you  to  remain  here  for  an  answer  from  us.  We  have 
your  speech  in  our  breasts,  and  shall  consult  our  head  warriors." 

The  head  warriors  having  been  consulted,  the  final  answer  came,  fully 
detailing  all  their  views  of  the  question  of  boundary,  and  insisting  on 
the  Ohio  as  such  limit  between  the  white  and  red  men. 


NOTE  I.     Page  199. 

We  are  indebted  to  Perkins's  Annals  for  the  following  note : — • 
"  The  authenticity  of  this  speech  has  been  questioned ;  it  was  doubted 
at  the  time  even.  George  Clinton,  of  New  York,  sent  the  proof  of  its 
genuineness  to  Washington,  March  20,  1794,  and  both  he  and  the  Pre 
sident  thought  it  authentic.  Judge  Marshall,  (Life  of  Washington,  r. 
535,)  states  it  is  not  authentic,  and  Sparks,  (Washington  Papers,  x. 
394,  note,)  seems  to  agree  with  him  ;  but  Mr.  Stone  found  among  Brant's 
papers,  a  certified  MS.  copy  from  which  the  above  extracts  are  taken, 
(Stone's  Brant,  ii.  368,  note);  and  Mr.  Hammond,  the  British  minister, 
in  May,  1794,  acknowledged  it  to  be  genuine.  (American  State  Papers, 
i.  462.  See  also  v.  480.) 


NOTE  K.     Page  204. 

The  following  extracts  are  from  the  official  report  of  General  Wayne, 
of  the  battle  of  the  20th  of  August,  1794.  The  full  report  is  found  in 
American  State  Papers,  v.  492. 

"  The  forces  moved  down  the  north  bank  of  the  Maumee,  the  legion 
on  the  right,  its  flank  covered  by  the  Maumee ;  one  brigade  of  mounted 
VOL.  I.— 26 


402  NOTES   TO   CHAPTER  IV. 

volunteers  on  the  left,  under  Brigadier-general  Todcl,  and  the  other  in 
the  rear  under  Brigadier-general  Barbc -.  A  select  battalion  of  mounted 
volunteers  moved  in  front  of  the  legion,  commanded  by  Major  Price, 
who  was  directed  to  keep  sufficiently  advanced,  so  as  to  give  timely  no 
tice  for  the  troops  to  form  in  case  of  action,  it  being  yet  undetermined 
whether  the  Indians  would  decide  for  peace  or  war. 

"After  advancing  about  five  miles,  Major  Price's  corps  received  so 
severe  a  fire  from  the  enemy,  who  were  secreted  in  the  woods  and  high 
grass,  as  to  compel  them  to  retreat.  The  legion,  \vtvs  immediately  formed 
in  two  lines,  prhx-ivalJv  in  a  clos^  thiok  wood,  whi^h  ("itonded  for  miles 
on  our  left,  aii'.l  ll;r  a  very  considerable  distant.- 'j  in  fV'.'ut ;  the  ground 
being  covered  vvii  bc-r,  probably  occasioned  by  a  tornado, 

which  rendered  :c  impracticable  ft>r  the  cavulry  to  act  with  effect,  aud 
afforded  the  encna;/  ti  :  :ii«..^t  favourable  covort  for  their  mode  of  war  I  are. 
The  savages  were  ii.riued  in  three  lino?,  within  supporting  distance  of 
each  olaer,  and  extending  for  near  two  miles  at  right  angles  with  the 
river.  I  soon  discovered,  from  the  weight  of  the  fire  and  extent  of  their 
lines,  that  the  enemy  were  in  full  force  in  front,  in  possession  of  their 
favourite  ground,  and  endeavouring  to  turn  our  left  flank.  I  therefore 
gave  orders  for  the  second  line  to  advance  and  support  the  first;  and 
directed  Major-general  Scott  to  gain,  and  turn  the  right  flank  of  the 
savages,  with  the  whole  of  the  mounted  volunteers,  by  a  circuitous  route; 
at  the  same  time  I  ordered  the  fp«nt  line  to  advance,  and  charge  with 
trailed  arms,  and  rouso  the  Indians  from  their  covert  at  the  point  of  the 
bayonet,  and  when  up,  to  deliver  ;>  close  and  well-directed  firn  on  their 
back?,  followed  by  a  brijk  charge,  so  as  not  to  give  them  time  to  load 
again. 

'•I  also  ordered  Captain  Mis  Campbell,  who  cnirmrmdei]  tho  legionary 
cavalry,  to  turn  the  lofr  li.iiik  of  the  (MiCTny  next  the  rivtT,  ;ind  which 
afforded  a  favourable  lir>U  i<-r  that  corps  to  net  in.  Ail  these  orders 
were  obeyed  witn  spirit  and  promptitude;  t  Mich  was  the' impetuosity 
of  the  charge  by  the  first  line  of  infantry,  that  the  Indian  and  Canadian 
mililia  and  volunteer*  \vc.'j'v  drove  from  all  their  coverts  in  KO  sh^rt  a  time-, 
that  although  every  po:;.-'.l!c  exertion  was  usu  if  the 

second  line  of  the  legion,  und  by  U  -.'.rb^e,  of 

the  mounted  volunteers,  to  ga'.:  per  pot  ions,  •  1'  each 

•  ]  got  up  in  seasor.  .  ipate  in  ti  being 

drove  in  the  c<<  ,  more  than  .tv  «  _,!\  tho  thick 

woods  already  men tione<  -li'S.  From 

every  account  the  enemy  .  -1  combatants.  The 

troops  actually  enpi  ilrjin,  were  sh(.":t  of  nine  hundred. 

This  lurcle  of  savages,  with  Li  ;  '.->ned  themselves  to  flight, 


NOTE  L.— WAYNE'S  VICTORY.  4Q3 

and  dispersed  with  terror  and  dismay,  leaving  our  victories  artuy  in 
full  and  quiet  possession  of  the  field  of  battle,  which  terminated  under 
the  influence  of  the  guns  of  the  British  garrison,  as  you  will  observe  by 
the  enclosed  correspondence  between  Major  Campbell,  the  commandant, 
and  myself,  upon  the  occasion."  (Vide  supra,  note  A.) 


NOTE  L.     Pago  207. 

On  the  exchange  of  prisoners,  a  scone  occurred,  Vihieh.  ina-y  tioli  bo 
considered  as  out  of  place  to  bo  hero  roted.  Tho  account  is  iak;;n  froai 
the  narrative  of  John  Brickell,  or  Biekcll,  who  had  been  a  cnpiivo  for 
four  years  among  the  Delaware.-;,  ;iud  adoptod  into  the  family  of  Whingwy 
Pooshies,  or  Bi;;  Cat,  a  noted  warrior  of  that  tribo.  BrickelPs  narrative 
is  given  at  length  in  the  American  Pioneer,  i.  53.  He  says — 

"  On  the  breaking  up  of  spring  we  all  went  up  to  Fort  Defiance,  and 
on  arriving  on  the  shore  opposite,  we  saluted  the  fort  with  a  round  of 
rifles,  and  they  shot  a  cannon  thirteen  times.  We  then  encamped  on  the 
spot.  On  the  same  day  Whingwy  Pooshies  told  me  I  must  go  over  to  the 
fort.  The  children  hung  round  me  crying,  and  asked  me  if  I  was  going 
to  leave  them  ?  I  told  them  I  did  not  know.  When  we  got  ovp.r  to  the 
fort,  and  were  seated  with  the  officers,  Whingwy  Pcoshies  tjH  me  to 
Btand  up,  which  I  did;  he  then  rose  and  addressed  me  in  ab"Ut  these 
words: — '  My  son,  there  are  men  the  same  colour  with  yourself.  There 
may  be  some  of  your  kin  there,  or  your  kin  may  be  a  great  way  off  from 
you.  You  have  lived  a  lor.g  iii-.io  widi  us.  I  call  on  you  to  sny  if  I  havo 
not  been  a  father  to  you  ?  If  I  have  not  used  you  a^  :i  Ikili-vi*  v,ouk!  uso 
a  son?'  I  fai-1,  '  You  havo  usoil  me  a-;  vr-iil  :\s  :i  i:iiii;-r  comd  r.-e  a  S-JH.' 
Ho  said,  ;I  am  glad  you  say  so.  io»i  haw;  ii><.:d  lon^  Y,'i,!i  iao ;  y  a 
have  hunted  for  me;  but  our  treaty  >vays  you  must  bo  free.  If  you  chuf^o 
to  go  with  the  people  of  your  own  c<  lu-.  I  ]ui\o  no  right  to  ssuy  :i  word, 
but  if  you  choose  to  stay  with' me,  youi-  people  havo  no  ri^li;  co  s^  ^ik, 
Now  reflect  on  it,  and  take  your  choice,  and  tell  us  as  scun  uo  yon  liiako 
tip  your  mind/ 

"  I  was  silent  a  few  minute?,  iu  which  time  it  seemed  as  if  I  thought 
of  almost  every  thing.  I  thought  of  the  children  I  had  .just  left  crying  ; 
I  thought  of  the  Indians  I  was  attached  to,  and  I  thought  of  my  }t,;oplo 
which  I  remembered;  and  this  latter  thoi.  •  •'(!  I  said, 

'I  will  go  with  my  kin/     The  old  man  then  saiJ,  ' 
I  have  learned  you  to  lain!'.     You  are  a  good  >. 

"better  to  me  than  iny  own  sons.     I  am  novs 
hunt.   I  thought  you  would  !•«  I  to  my  i^\    I !'. 


404  NOTES   TO   CHAPTER  IV. 

on  a  staff.  Now  it  is  broken — you  are  going  to  leave  me,  and  I  have  no 
right  to  say  a  word,  but  I  am  ruined/  He  then  sank  back,  in  tears,  to 
his  seat.  I  heartily  joined  him  in  his  tears — parted  with  him,  and  have 
never  seen  nor  heard  of  him  since." 


NOTE  M.     Page  208. 

Mr.  Jay  reached  England  June  15th,  1794.  His  treaty  was  concluded 
November  19th.  It  was  received  by  the  President  March  7th,  1795.  It 
was  submitted  to  the  Senate  June  8th  ;  was  agreed  to  by  them  on  the 
24th  of  the  same  month ;  and  was  ratified  by  the  President  on  the  14th 
of  August,  1795. 


NOTE  N.     Page  216. 

At  this  time,  (1797,)  there  was  a  strong  military  force  in  Canada,  and 
there  were  persons  in  the  United  States  who  would  gladly  have  joined 
even  a  British  invasion  of  Louisiana  ;  and  although  the  British  cabinet 
disavowed  any  such  intentions,  the  provincial  authorities  of  Canada  no 
doubt  seriously  contemplated  such  an  event,  as  did  men  of  influence  in 
the  United  States.  At  the  very  time  that  Gayoso  was  deferring  the  ful 
filment  of  the  treaty,  his  allusion  to  a  British  invasion  was  not  without 
foundation.  As  was  subsequently  ascertained,  Senator  William  Blount, 
from  Tennessee,  who  had  enjoyed  the  confidence  of  the  Federal  govern 
ment,  as  "  Governor  of  the  Southwestern  Territory,  and  Indian  Agent," 
and  was  intimately  acquainted  with  the  southern  country,  people,  and 
Indian  tribes,  wlrere  he  had  great  influence,  conceived  the  design  of  a 
conspiracy  to  aid  the  British  forces  of  Canada,  by  way  of  Lake  Michigan, 
Chicago,  and  the  Illinois  River,  to  invade  Louisiana,  and  capture  New 
Orleans.  The  troops  of  Great  Britain  in  Canada  had  actually  embarked 
from  Quebec  for  the  lakes.  Blount's  plan  of  operations  contemplated  a 
strong  reinforcement  from  the  Ohio,  the  Tennessee,  and  Cumberland 
rivers,  with  supplies  of  military  stores  and  provisions,  to  meet  the  in 
vading  forces  at  the  mouth  of  the  Ohio.  Blount  having  disclosed  his 
plans  to  Mr.  Liston,  the  British  minister,  was  referred  by  him  directly 
to  the  British  cabinet.  The  cautious  mystery  of  the  American  senator 
led  to  his  detection,  and  having  been  found  guilty  of  entertaining  tho 
treasonable  plot,  he  was  unanimously  expelled  from  the  United  States 
Senate.  (See  American  State  Papers,  iii.  335,  Boston  edition.  Martin's 
Louisiana,  ii.  139.  Marbois's  Louisiana,  163.  Journals  of  Congress — 
Senate.) 


NOTE  0.— WILKINSON'S  INTRIGUES.  4Q5 

NOTE  0.     Page  217. 

"We  are  indebted  to  Monette  for  the  following  pertinent  remarks : — 
"  The  temerity  of  this  last  intrigue  put  in  operation  by  the  Governor  of 
Louisiana,  astonishes  every  reflecting  mind.  But  General  "Wilkinson  was 
a  talented  and  ambitious  man  ;  he  had  received  many  favours  from  the 
Spanish  governors  nearly  ten  years  before ;  he  had  received  exclusive 
privileges  in  the  commerce  with  Louisiana  ;  a  long  and  confidential  inter 
course  had  existed  between  him  and  Governor  Miro ;  he  was  known  to 
have  indulged  a  predilection  for  the  Spanish  authority,  and  was  ambitious 
of  power  and  distinction  ;  he  was  now  at  the  head  of  the  Western  armies, 
and  with  the  power  and  influence  of  his  station  he  might  effectually  bring 
about  a  separation  of  the  "West,  the  formation  of  a  new  republic,  of  which 
he  himself  might  be  the  supreme  ruler,  and  conduct  the  alliance  with 
Spain.  Such  may  have  been  the  reasoning  of  Baron  de  Carondelet  at 
this  period."  (Monette,  i.  536.) 


NOTES  TO  CHAPTER  V. 

NOTE  A.     Page  226. 

In  January,  1802,  Governor  Harrison  communicated  to  th*1  President 
a  letter  detailir.f;  some  very  singular  and  curious  land  speculations.  We 
take  it  from  American  State  Papers,  xvi.  J:::3. 

"  The  court  c -luMishcd  at  this  ph"f  tinder  the  authority  of  the  State 
of  Virginia,  in  the  year  1780,  a?si;rned  to  themselves  the  right  of  grant 
ing  lands  to  every  ;>' ^vacant.  Having  exercised  tins  power  for  some  time 
without  opposition,  they  began  to  conclude  that  their  right  over  the  land 
was  supreme,  and  Ihtit  tlu-y  could  v\  ir.h  as  much  propriety  grant  to  them 
selves  us  to  other:;.  AC-JO;^!  y  :in  arra-;^ouu;Ht  was  made  by  which 
thp  v/h  ;"^  country  to  Tvlueh  ih?  Inuiau  litio  vras  supposed  to  be  cstin- 
gui,-p"-!.  \ra-  divided,  belvcccu  the  members  of  ih-:;  court;  and  oni- 
that  fflout  entered  on  their  journal,  each  member  absenting  him  sen' 
the  court  on  the  day  that  the  order  was  to  be  made  in  his  favour,  so  that 
it  might  appear  to  be  the  act  of  his  fellows  only.  The  tract  thus  disposed 
of,  extends  on  the  W abash  twenty-four  leagues  from  La  Pointe  Coupee, 
to  the  mouth  of  White  Kiver,  and  forty  leagues  into  the  country  west, 
and  thirty  east,  from  the  Wabash,  excluding  only  the  land  immediately 
surrounding  this  town,  (Vincennes,)  which  had  before  been  granted  to 
the  amount  of  twenty  or  thirty  thousand  acres. 

"  The  authors  of  this  ridiculous  transaction  soon  found  thatno  advantage 
could  be  derived  from  it,  as  they  could  find  no  purchasers,  and  I  believe 
that  the  idea  of  holding  any  part  of  the  land  wras  by  the  greater  part  of 
them  abandoned  a  low  years  ago ;  however,  the  claim  was  discovered,  and 
a  part  of  it  purchased,  by  some  of  those  speculators  who  infest  our  coun 
try,  and  !•  .'  number  <  ,b  parts  of 

,io  concer;.  aally 

nLs  on  the  land  the  ensuing  spring.    Indeed, 

•  irpriscd  .indrcd  families  settling  under  these 

titles  in  the  course  of  a  year.    The  price  at  which  the  land  is  sold  enables 

anybody  to  become  a  purchaser;  01  -d.  acres  being  frequently 

given  for  an  indifferent  horyo  or  a  rifle  gun.     And  as  a  formal  deed  is 

made  reciting  the  grant  of  1:.<A  court,  (n\:-  pretended  under  the 

authority  of  the  State  of  Virginia,)  many  ignorant  persons  have  been 


NOTE   B.—  ROCK  ISLAND.  407 

induced  to  part  with  their  little  all,  to  obtain  this  ideal  property,  and  they 
will  no  doubt  endeavour  to  strengthen  their  claim,  as  soon  as  they  have 
discovered  the  deception,  by  an  actual  settlement.  I  am  now  informed 
that  a  number  of  persons  are  in  the  habit  of  repairing  to  this  place,  where 
they  purchase  two  or  three  hundred  thousand  acres  of  this  claim,  for 
which  they  get  a  deed  properly  authenticated  and  recorded,  and  then 
disperse  themselves  over  the  United  States,  to  cheat  the  ignorant  and 
credulous.  In  Home  measure  to  check  this  practice,  I  have  forbidden  the 
record  ;•  a:«d  prothonotary  of  this  county  from  recording  or  authenticat 
ing  a<r  if  tliuno  papori  ;  ]yin:.;  d^ler  iinoi  lLat  the  official  seals  uf  tho 
.'  s-'i-suM  not  be  ros  fi  !;•.!...}<!  to  ;i  unx,'-:  in  base  :u  that  U.'a<s^i- 


i;Wjf.    n.    TTAKKISOV. 

To  JA' 


Rock  Island  is  c«rt.i;i:'y  a  beautiful  and  fertile  spot  of  land,  reposing 
in  a  noble  field  of  crystal  waters;  the  scenery  around  it  is  not  sur 
passed  in  beauty  by  any  other  on  the  Upper  Mississippi.  The  Rock, 
and  remarkable  cave  at  its  base,  which  is  washed  by  the  Mississippi,  are 
prominent  and  romantic  features  in  the  imposing  landscape  which  pre 
sents  itself  to  the  view  on  ascending  the  river.  At  this  day,  the  high 
state  of  cultivation  which  distinguishes  both  the  Illinois  and  the  Iowa 
banks  of  the  river,  and  the  largo  and  flourishing  cities  of  Rock  Island 
and  Davenport,  gracefully  and  beautifully  adorning  each  side  of  the  Mis 
sissippi,  which  maj  -stically  flows  between  them,  present  a  picture  that 
the  wild  Indian  could  never  have  imagined,  nor  the  early  explorers  of 
the  country  ever  have  urir!:;  CM  Fort  Armstrong,  built  on  tho 

summit  of  the  Rock,  was  forme i'hr  not  t  c  least  of  the  handsome  objects 
in  the  panorama. 

Black  Hawk  has  thus  dt!«r  •>'•!  this  favourite  dwelling-place  of  tho 
the  Indian  tradition  of  the  tutelary  spirit  of  tho  island: 
•'Hero  wo  f;>und  that  troops  h«id  arrived  to  build  a  fort  at  Rock  Island. 
We  di  building  the  fort,  but  were  very  sorry,  as  this 

•was  tho  best  island  on  the  Mississippi,  and  had  long  been  tho  resort  of 
our  young  people  during  (ho  rummer.  It  was  our  garden,  (like  the  white 
people  have  near  to  ilu'iv  big  villages,)  which  supplied  us  with  strawber 
ries,  blackberr:  -,  plums,  Rj.-plos,  and  nuts  of  different 
kinds;  and  its  vratci  us  with  fine  fish,  being  situated  in  the 


408  NOTES   TO  CHAPTER  V. 

rapids  of  the  river.  In  my  early  life  I  spent  many  happy  days  on  this 
island.  A  good  spirit  had  care  of  it,  who  lived  in  a  cave  in  the  rocks 
immediately  under  the  place  where  the  fort  now  stands,  and  has  often 
"been  seen  by  our  people.  He  was  white,  with  large  wings  like  a  swan's, 
but  ten  times  larger.  We  were  particular  not  to  make  much  noise  in 
that  part  of  the  island  which  he  inhabited,  for  fear  of  disturbing  him. 
But  the  noise  of  the  fort  has  since  driven  him  away,  and  no  doubt,  a 
lad  spirit  has  taken  his  place."  (See  Black  Hawk's  Life,  by  himself.) 


NOTE  C.     Page  228. 

This  treaty,  generally  called  the  Treaty  of  St.  Louis,  was  made  No 
vember  3d,  1804,  by  Governor  William  Henry  Harrison,  sole  commis 
sioner  on  part  of  the  United  States,  and  the  chiefs  and  head  men  of  the 
United  Sac  and  Fox  tribes.  It  is  signed  on  the  part  of  the  Indians  by 
"  Layouvois,  or  Laiyuwa,  Pashepapo,  or  the  Giger,  Quashquame,  or 
Jumping  Fish  ;  Outchequaha  or  Suntish,  and  Ilah-she-quax-hi-qua,  or 
the  Bear.  It  must  be  allowed  that  these  are  very  few  representatives 
of  the  different  bands  of  the  Sacs  and  Foxes  ;  and  considering  the  im 
mense  extent  of  country  ceded  by  the  signers  of  the  treaty,  which  em 
braced  nearly  all  of  the  present  State  of  Wisconsin  south  of  the  Wis 
consin  River,  together  with  a  considerable  portion  of  the  States  of 
Illinois  and  Missouri ;  also  taking  into  view  the  absolutely  trifling 
consideration  named  for  the  grant,  which  Avas  "  goods  in  hand  to  the 
amount  of  two  thousand  two  hundred  and  thirty-four  dollars  and  fifty 
cents ;  and  a  yearly  annuity  of  one  thousand  dollars,  of  which  six  hun 
dred  dollars  was  for  the  Sacs  and  four  hundred  dollars  for  the  Foxes,  to 
be  paid  in  goods  valued  at  first  cost,"  this  treaty  may  be  considered  as 
a  most  extraordinary  one.  In  all  subsequent  treaties  made  with  the 
Indians  of  the  Upper  Mississippi  this  treaty  of  November  3d,  1804,  is 
referred  to,  and  its  validity  acknowledged,  when  necessary.  Black 
Hawk  always  denied  the  validity  of  this  treaty,  as  having  been  made 
and  signed  by  persons  of  no  authority,  or  possessing  no  authority  to  sell 
the  lands  of  the  Sacs  and  Foxes.  In  a  subsequent  treaty,  made  13th  of 
May,  181G,  this  treaty  of  1804  is  acknowledged  and  confirmed.  The 
treaty  of  1816  is  made  with  the  Sacs  of  Rock  River,  and  is  signed  by 
twenty-two  chiefs,  among  whom  is  found  Muck-etama-che-ka-ka,  or  Black 
Sparrow  Hawk  ;  but  he  afterward  asserted  that  he  was  deceived  and 
•was  ignorant  of  what  he  was  then  doing.  Another  signer  to  this  latter 
treaty  is  Matchequawa,  or  the  Bad  Axe,  a  name  most  ominous  to  Black 
Hawk,  as  subsequent  events  gave  evidence. 


NOTE   D.— KEOKUK. 


NOTE  D.     Page  239. 

Governor  John  Reynolds,  in  his  "  Pioneer  History  of  Illinois,"  gives 
this  account  of  Keokuk : — 

"  Keokuk  was  made  a  war  chief  by  his  merit,  and  not  by  birth.  In 
the  late  war  with  England,  the  Sauk  and  Fox  Indians  were  about  to  be 
destroyed,  as  they  supposed,  by  the  army  under  General  Howard  in 
1813.  The  whole  nation  at  Rock  Island,  except  a  very  fe\v,  commenced 
lamentations  and  shedding  tears  of  distress,  thinking  the  Long  Knives 
were  about  to  kill  them  all.  Keokuk  was  then  a  mere  youth,  but  his 
great  native  mind  and  his  true  patriotism  made  him  stand  out  the  cham 
pion  of  the  nation,  to  defend  them  and  the  country  against  General  Howard 
and  his  army.  A  few  other  choice  spirits  of  the  young  warriors  joined 
him  and  marched  out  to  meet  the  American  army,  preferring  death  to 
the  surrender  of  their  country.  It  so  happened  that  the  Americans  were 
not  near  them,  and  the  panic  arose  without  foundation.  I  was  with  the 
army  under  General  Howard,  and  we  were  almost  as  much  alarmed  at 
the  Indians  as  the  Indians  were  at  us.  They  had  three  or  four-fold  over 
our  numbers. 

"  This  movement  made  Keokuk  a  war-chief  of  the  nation  ;  and  General 
Scott  and  myself,  as  commissioners  at  the  treaty  of  Rock  Island,  in  1832, 
with  the  Sauk  and  Fox  Indians,  confirmed  him  in  this  office.  Keokuk  had 
sound  good  sense ;  he  took  the  newspapers,  and  got  them  explained  to  him." 

Black  Hawk  gives  an  account  to  the  same  effect:  he  says,  "that  on 
his  return,  he  learned  that  the  nation  had  been  reduced  to  so  small  a 
party  of  fighting  men  by  the  absence  of  the  braves  with  him,  that  they 
felt  unable  to  defend  themselves  if  the  Americans  should  attack  them ; 
that  all  the  women  and  children,  and  old  men  belonging  to  the  warriors 
who  had  joined  the  British,  were  left  with  them  to  provide  for.  That  a 
council  had  been  held,  and  it  was  determined  that  several  chiefs,  and 
such  men,  women,  and  children  as  chose  to  accompany  them,  should 
descend  the  river  and  place  themselves  under  the  protection  of  the 
American  chief  at  St.  Louis.  Accordingly  the  '  peace  party'  went  to 
St.  Louis,  and  were  received  as  the  friendly  band  of  Sacs  and  Foxes, 
while  their  friends  were  assisting  the  British.  That  some  time  afterward 
the  spies  reported  that  a  large  American  force  had  been  seen  going  to 
ward  Peoria;  that  fears  were  entertained  of  an  attack  on  their  village; 
that  a  council  was  held,  to  which  Keokuk  was  admitted  by  special  per 
mission,  as  he  never  had  killed  an  enemy,  and  therefore  was  no  chief; 
that  there  was  a  serious  question  on  deserting  their  village,  and  the 
graves  of  their  fathers ;  that  Keokuk  resisted  such  action,  and  offered 


410  NOTES  TO  CHAPTER  V. 

to  defend  the  village  ;  that  he  was  thereupon  constituted  a  war  chief  by 
the  council,  and  marched  with  his  braves  on  the  trail  leading  to  Peoria, 
but  returned  without  seeing  an  enemy.  The  Americans  did  not  disturb 
the  village,  and  all  were  satisfied  with  the  appointment  of  Keokuk."' 


NOTE  E.     Page  241. 
(From  the  Montreal  Hern  Id  <A  August  8th.) 

MA<:KI.NAC,  July  17th,  1811. 
CAPITULATION 

Agreed  upon  behveen  Captain  Charles  Roberts,  commanding  his  Bri- 
tanic  Majesty's  forces,  on  the  one  part,  and  Lieutenant  Flanks,  command 
ing  the  forces  of  tho  United  S  in  toe,  on  the  other. 

ARTICIJSS. 

I.  The  ibit  of  MiKvkijiii  sLtill  immediately  be  surrendered  to  the  Bri 
tish  IVivee.s.     Oil-anted. 

II.  The  garrison  shall  inarch  out  with  the  honours  of  war,  lay  down 
their  arms,  and  become  prisoners  of  war,  and  shall  be  sent  to  the  United 
States  of  America  by  his  Britannic  Majesty.    Not  to  serve  in  this  war  until 
regularly  exchanged ;  and  for  the  due  performance  of  this  article  the 
officers  pledge  their  word  of  honour.     Granted. 

III.  All  the  merchant  vessels  in  the  harbour,  with  their  cargoes,  shall 
be  in  the  possession  of  their  respective  owners.     Granted. 

IV.  Private  property  shall  be  held  sacred.     Granted. 

V.  All  citizens  of  the  United  States  of  America  who  sha1'  not  take 
the  oath  of  allegiance  to  his  Britannic  Majesty,  shall  depart  with  their 
property  from  the  island  in  one  month  from  the  date  hereof.     Granted. 

[Signed,  CHARLES  Ror.KRTi-1, 

Commanding  H.  B.  Majesty's  Forces, 

l\  HAXKP, 
Commanding  tho  Forces  of  the  United  States  of  America. 

REMARKS. — His  Britannic  Majesty's  force  consisted  of  forty  regulars 
of  the  royal  veteran  battalion. 

Two  hundred  and  sixty  Canadians,  with  their  bourgeois  or  employees. 

Four  hundred  Indians — Sioux,  Folle  Avoines,  Puans,  Chippewas  of 
St.  Joseph's,  St.  Mary's,  &c. 


1  Doc.  Hisli.iy.     Black  Hawk  War. 


NOTE  E.— SURRENDER  OP  MACKINAC.  4U 

Artillery — Two  six-pounders,  which  embarked  at  St.  Joseph's,  on 
board  the  Caledonia,  N.  \V.  Co.'s  ship  ;  ten  batteaux,  and  seventy  canoes. 

The  American  garrison  consisted  of  sixty-three  regulars,  and  nine 
vessels  in  the  habour,  having  on  board  forty-seven  men ;  in  all,  one  hun 
dred  and  ten. 

After  the  capitulation,  two  American  vessels  arrived,  laden  with 
seven  hundred  packs  of  furs,  which  became  prize  to  his  Majesty's 
forces. 

In  the  Montreal  Herald  of  August  4,  is  form-.!  ii  letter  from  J  >nn 
Askin,  Jan.,  dated  July  18t!  v.'ving  an  account  of  r  o  capit-'sHriori  of 
Mackinac;  in  which  ii>ev*-i  ddbits  a  true  sr><  cimo! 
nanimity  in  the  fol'ov.  is-.g  b  -"  It  vfus  a  1'  ••• 

the  fort  capitulated  •vviihoiii  iivls  ;?  r  -.inp-Io  ,iy.n,  fc 
I  jl-mlii  heh  <,'  •/«-, 
Charles  LangLr 
dered  me  gi-cr.t. 

from  time  to  tiuv,1.  ,vn;'!Ji  corurr..uvi*  =i  :>  :!••'' v.'fW.].  ;  >  !;%'"-  bv  I'H>  r,<r\\- 
aaandiug  ofttecr.  I  KOV-V  ,- :  •  ^.-df-.i  ;/' /  '«  as  the  •Chiu- 

povras  Mud  Ottawas  \vere." 

Lieutenant  Hanks,  in  his  official  repoTB  of  UK;  t-'urreiuk-r  of  tho  for';, 
made  to  General  Hull,  and  dated  at  Detroit,  August  4th.  says,  "  That 
the  summons  to  surrender  the  fort  and  island  to  his  Britannic  Majesty's 
forces,  was  the  first  intimation  he  had  received  of  the  declaration  of  war." 
He  also  states  that  the  British  force,  of  regulars,  Canadians,  and  Indians, 
amounted  to  1021;  and,  two  days  after  the  capitulation,  one  hundred  and 
fifty  Chippewas  and  Ottawas  joined  the  British. 

A  gentleman  in  the  Indian  department,  who  had  been  made  prisoner 
and  taken  to  the  British  and  Indian  camp,  writes  from  Detroit,  August 
Cth,  to  the  secretary  of  war,  and  says,  "  The  persons  who  commanded 
the  Indians  are,  Robert  Dickson,  Indian  trader,  and  John  A-4;!r>,  Jon., 
Indian  agent,  ar.d  son.  The  latter  two  were  painted,  d^v'sH,  ar •}  armed 
after  the  manner  of  the  Indian?.  Those  who  command*  th<>  ("inrjdiang 
are,  John  Johnson,  Crawford,  Pothier,  Armitingp-i,  i.;i  Cr;  :,  iviletto, 
Franks.  Livingston,  and  others,  a)i  Indian  trader*-  somo  of  whom- were 
lat-?!}"  concerned  in  smuggling  British  goods  iiU->  the  Indian  .country, 
and  who,  in  conjunction  with  others,  have  b«'en  u-mig  th^ir  utmost 
efforts  several  months  before  the  declaration  of  war,  to  excite  the  Indians 
to  take  up  arms  against  the  United  State>  .ime  writer  also  says, 

"The  least  resistance  from  the  fort  would  luivo  been  attiriidod  with  tho 
destruction  of  all  th«  persons  who  fell  into  tho  hands  cf  the  British,  as 
1  have  bsHMi  assured  D}  some  of  the  Britisii  U  tlie  same  fate, 

as  I  >'  v/iiuld  have  -  and  s  Miers, 


412  NOTES   TO  CHAPTER  V. 

had  a  single  Indian  been  killed.  Nothing  else,  it  is  said,  would  hav« 
satisfied  the  Indians,  and  it  was  not  without  great  difficulty  they  were 
prevented  from  taking  the  lives  of  several  Americans  after  the  fort  had 
capitulated." 


NOTE  F.     Page  242. 

The  following  data  are  extracted  from  Captain  Ileald's  account  of  the 
evacuation  of  Fort  Dearborn,  and  the  subsequent  massacre  of  the  garri- 
Bon  and  inhabitants  ;  Captain  Ileald's  letter  is  found  in  Niles's  Register, 
vol.  iii.  155,  iv.  160. 

On  the  9th  of  August,  orders  to  evacuate  the  post  were  received  from 
General  Hull ;  Captain  Heald  was  at  liberty  to  dispose  of  the  public  pro 
perty  at  his  discretion. 

On  the  14th  of  August,  the  captain  delivered  to  the  Indians  all  the 
goods  in  the  factory  store,  and  a  considerable  quantity  of  provisions 
which  he  could  not  take  with  him.  He  destroyed  the  surplus  arms  and 
ammunition. 

On  the  15th,  the  garrison  marched,  and  were  attacked  about  a  mile  and 
a  half  from  the  fort ;  the  captain,  after  a  short  but  fruitless  resistance,, 
surrendered  to  the  chief  "  Black  Bird,"  and  the  remains  of  his  command 
and  party  were  taken  back  to  the  fort  as  prisoners  and  distributed  among 
the  several  tribes  of  Indians. 

The  number  of  the  Indians  was  between  four  and  five  hundred,  mostly 
Pottawatarnies  ;  their  loss  in  the  battle  was  about  fifteen. 

Captain  Ileald's  command  was  fifty-four  regulars,  and  twelve  militia 
men  ;  out  of  which  twenty-six  regulars,  and  all  the  militia  were  killed  ; 
also  two  women  and  twelve  children. 

On  the  16th,  the  Indians  set  fire  to  the  fort  and  left  the  place,  taking 
their  prisoners  with  them. 

Lieutenant  Lina  T.  Helm,  with  twenty-five  non-commissioned  officers 
and  privates,  and  eleven  women  and  children,  were  left  as  prisoners  when 
Captain  Heald  was  separated  from  them.  Mrs.  Heald  and  the  cnptain, 
(both  being  badly  wounded,)  were  taken  to  the  house  of  Mr.  Burnett, 
an  Indian  trader,  at  the  mouth  of  St.  Joseph  lliver,  where  they  were  left, 
and  from  which  place  they  afterward  reached  Detroit. 

The  following  synopsis  is  taken  from  Lanman's  History  of  Michigan: — 

"  General  Hull  had  sent  word  to  the  commander  at  Fort  Dearborn, 

(Chicago,)  Captain  Heald,  of  the  loss  of  Mackinac,  and  directed  him  to 

distribute  his  stores  among  the  Indians  and  retire  to  Fort  Wayne.     The 

garrison  had  at  that  time  the  amplest  means  of  defence,  but  the  order 


NOTE  F.— MASSACRE  AT  CHICAGO.         413 

tras  received  on  the  9th  of  August  and  left  nothing  to  the  discretion  of 
the  commandant.  The  fidelity  of  the  Pottawatamiea  was  doubted  on 
substantial  grounds,  and  the  advice  of  Captain  Wells,  to  evacuate  the 
fort  immediately,  before  the  Indians  should  have  time  to  concentrate 
around  it,  was  unfortunately  disregarded.  Before  Captain  Heald  had 
completed  his  arrangements  to  leave  the  fort,  about  four  hundred  Indians 
had  collected  in  the  neighbourhood.  A  promise  was  made  that  all  the 
surplus  stores  of  the  fort  should  be  at  their  disposal,  if  they  would  forbear 
harassing  the  garrison  on  their  march.  It  was  conceived  that  a  large 
quantity  of  powder  and  whiskey,  which  had  been  collected  in  the  fort, 
would  be  an  impolitic  gift  to  the  Indians ;  and  Captain  Heald  therefore 
ordered  the  powder  to  be  thrown  into  the  well,  and  the  whiskey  wasted ; 
which  was  accordingly  done.  During  the  night,  by  some  means  which 
are  not  known,  the  Indians  received  information  of  this  fact,  and  regarded 
the  waste  as  an  infringement  of  their  vested  rights.  The  act  naturally 
tended  to  exasperate  them  greatly,  and  they  therefore  assembled  in  con 
siderable  numbers  around  the  fort.  It  was  then  suggested  by  Captain 
Wells,  and  Mr.  Kenzie,  an  Indian  agent,  that  a  retreat  would  be  unsafe 
at  that  time  ;  but  without  effect.  The  whiskey  having  been  destroyed  and 
the  ammunition  lost,  the  means  of  defending  the  fort  were  gone  ;  and  the 
garrison,  comprising  several  families,  twelve  militia-men,  and  also  fifty- 
four  regular  troops,  took  their  line  of  march  from  the  fort.  When  about 
a  mile  from  the  fort,  the  Indians  were  perceived  making  preparations 
for  an  attack,  and  the  garrison  also  prepared  for  a  defence.  After  a 
short  conflict,  Captain  Heald  surrendered,  when  several  women,  children, 
and  about  half  his  garrison  had  been  killed.  The  prisoners  were  dis 
tributed  among  the  tribes,  and  on  the  following  morning  the  fort  was 
burned  to  the  ground. 

"  Lieutenant  Helm,  one  of  the  prisoners,  was  taken  to  Au  Sable,  on  the 
Illinois  River  ;  he  was  afterward  ransomed  from  the  Indians,  by  the 
trader  Thomas  Forsyth. 

"  Captain  Wells  was  an  early  victim  to  this  disastrous  conflict.  Dis 
appointed  at  the  blind  wilfulness  of  Captain  Heald,  in  accordance  with 
the  habits  of  the  savages  in  fits  of  disappointment,  he  had  blackened  his 
face,  and  was  thus  found  among  the  slain.  Captain  Wells  was  a  remark 
able  man.  He  had  been  captured  when  a  mere  child,  by  the  Indians, 
and  was  adopted  by  Mackinac,  the  Little  Turtle,  one  of  the  fiercest  war 
riors  who  has  figured  in  Indian  history.  During  the  sanguinary  defeats 
of  Harmar  and  St.  Clair,  Captain  Wells  had  commanded  an  Indian  force 
of  about  three  hundred  young  warriors.  These  were  posted  immediately 
in  front  of  the  artillery,  and  covering  themselves  behind  logs  and  posts, 
under  knolls  on  which  the  guns  were  placed,  they  literally  heaped  up 


414  NOTES    TO   CHAPTER  V. 

around  the  guns  the  bodies  of  the  artillerists.  After  those  contests, 
Wells,  foreseeing  >ue  advancing  power  of  the  whites,  resolved  to  abandon 
the  savages.  His  mode  of  expressing  his  determination  was  peculiar  to 
the  savage  custom.  Being  alone  in  the  wilderness  with  his  adopted 
father,  he  remarked,  '  When  the  sun  reaches  the  meridian,  I  leave  you 
for  the  whites  ;  and  whenever  you  meet  me  in  battle,  you  must  kill  me, 
as  I  shall  endeavour  to  do  the  same  to  you/  Captain  Wells  shortly  after 
joined  the  army  of  General  Wayne,  arid  by  his  knowledge  of  Indian 
(•nnioms  '.va.s  of  essential  service  to  the  American  forces,  and  fought  with 
Li;mal  succ'vsH.  When,  however,  tho  w:;./  ->vas  concluded,  and  peace  was 
•MU  the  Indians  and  the  United  8fcatt\s,  no  !/-::tuvjiivl  !o  his 
tie,  t<nd  ^oiii'iLiued  in  unbroken  fno.pls!i?p 

•with  hiu  .ii  is  ulh'god  that  when  tho  body 

of  Captain  'UVi.U  v/<\s  found  at  Chicago,  by  tin  Indians,  they  drunk  his 
blood,  aa  they  had  imbibed  a  superstition  that  Lhey  should  thus  inherit 
his  extraordinary  military  endowments." 

By  the  stipulations  of  the  treaty  made  at  Prairie  du  Chien,  July  29th, 
1829,  the  Chippewa,  Ottawa,  and  Pottawatamie  Indians,  of  the  waters  of 
the  Illinois,  Milwaukee,  and  Manitoouck  rivers,  agree  that  the  sum  of 
eleven  thousand  six  hundred  and  one  dollars  shall  be  paid  to  certain 
persons  named  in  the  schedule,  in  full  satisfaction  of  claims  brought 
against  the  said  Indians,  and  which  they  acknowledge  to  be  justly  due. 
Among  these;  •.•iaiins  we  find  the  following: — To  Antoine  Ouilmettc,  for 
depredations  committed  on  him  by  the  Indians  at  the  time  of  the  massa 
cre  tit  Chicago,  and  during  the  war,  $800.  To  the  heirs  of  John  Kcnzie, 
Chicago,  for  depredations  committed  on  him  at  the  time  of  the 
inopsacre  tit  Chicago  and  at  St.  Joseph,  during  the  winter  of  1812,  $3500. 
To  ses  sustained  at  tho  time  of  the  capture  of 

>-<)x't  Doarborn,  in  .1^12,  by  lli^  Indian:?,  ?300. 


NOTE  G.     Page  245. 

"By  the  7th  section  of  the  act  of  Congress,  approved  April  18,-h,  ISIS, 
entitled  "  An  Act  to  enable  the  people  of  Illinois  Territory  to  form  a  consti 
tution  and  state  government,  ;uul  for  the  admission  of  such  State  into  the 
n  an  equal  footing  with  theorigi  .     ;  That 

i-ritory  of  tho  V  State 

1  in  Ihe  for; i :<••!•  f ;•. .liaiia  Territory, 

ith  t;  (he  fl.iinois  Territory  whic'i  is  situate-:!  7iorth 

(  '       'vit.iiin  th  ;  to  the 

etate  ihr-r(>l)y  au  h;tH  be  ar 


NOTE  H.— GAINE'01   LETTER.  415 

to,  and  made  a  part  of  the  Michigan  Territory,  from  and  after  the 
formation  of  the  said  state,  subject,  nevertheless,  to  be  hereaftpr  disposed 
of  by  Congress  according  to  the  right  reserved  in  the  fifth  article  of  the 
ordinance  aforesaid,  (of  1787,)  and  the  inhabitants  therein  shall  be  en 
titled  to  the  same  privileges  and  immunities,  and  subject  to  the  same 
rules  and  regulations  in  all  respects  with  the  other  citizens  of  the  Michi 
gan  Territory."  (Laws  of  Congress,  1818.) 


NOTE  II.     Pa^o  255. 


General  Gaincs,  in  a  letter  dated  at  1  lock  Island,  June  20th,  1831,  gives 
the  following  account  of  his  expedition,  and  his  views  of  the  future  ac 
tion  of  Black  Hawk's  band: — 

"  I  have  visited  the  Rock  River  villages  with  a  view  to  ascertain  tho 
localities,  and,  as  far  as  possible,  the  dispositions  of  the  Indians.  They 
confirm  me  in  the  opinion  that  I  had  previously  formed,  that  whatever 
may  be  their  feelings  of  hostility,  they  are  resolved  to  abstain  from  the 
use  of  their  tomahawks  and  fire-arms,  except  in  self-defence.  But  few 
of  their  warriors  were  to  be  seen — their  women  and  children,  and  their 
old  men  appeared  anxious,  and  at  first  somewhat  confused,  but  nono 
attempted  to  run  off.  Having  previously  notified  their  chiefs  that  I 
would  have  nothing  more  to  say  to  them,  unless  they  should  desire  to 
inform  me  of  their  intention  to  move  forthwith,  as  I  had  directed  them, 
I  did  not  speak  to  them,  though  within  fifty  yards  <>i  m  ;  y  of  them.  I 
had  with  me  on  board  the  steamboat,  some  artillery,  and  two  companies 
of  infantry.  Their  village  is  immediately  on  Rock  Eivor,  and  so  situated 
that  I  could  from  the  steamboat  destroy  all  their  bark  houses  (tho  only 
kind  of  houses  they  have)  in  a  few  minutos,  with  tho  force  now  with  mo, 
probably  without  the  loss  of  a  man.  !>ut  1  am  resolved  to  abstain  from 
firing  a  bhot  without  some  bloodshed,  or  Home  manifest  attempt  to  riicd, 
blood,  on  the  part  of  tho  Indians.  I  have  already  induced  tho  one-third 
of  them  to  cross  the  Mississippi  to  their  own  land.  The  residue,  how 
ever,  say,  as  the  IViendly  chiefs  report,  that  they  never  ivill  move;  and 
what  is  very  uncommon,  their  women  urge  their  hostile  husbands  to 
fight,  rather  than  to  move,  and  thus  to  abandon  their  homes. 


NOTES  TO  CHAPTER  VI. 

NOTE  A.    Page  264. 

n 

AN   INDIAN   TALK, 

Delivered  at  tho  head  of  the  Four  Lakes,  May  25th,  1832,  to  the  Win- 
nebagoes,  by  Henry  Gratiot,  sub-Indian-agent,  and  General  Henry 
Dodge,  in  the  presence  of  fifty  mounted  volunteers,  commanded  by  Cap 
tains  James  II.  Gentry,  and  John  II.  Rountree. 

General  Dodge  said — • 

"  My  friends  :  Mr.  Gratiot,  your  father,  and  myself  have  met  to  have 
a  talk  with  you  ;  having  identified  us  both,  as  your  friends,  in  making 
a  sale  of  your  country  to  the  United  States,  you  will  not  suspect  us  for 
deceiving  you. 

"The  Sacs  have  shed  the  blood  of  our  people  ;  the  Winnebago  Prophet, 
and  as  we  are  told  one  hundred  of  your  people  have  united  with  Black 
Hawk  and  his  party ;  our  people  are  anxious  to  know  in  what  relation 
you  stand  to  uy,  whether  as  friends  or  enemies. 

"  Your  residence  being  near  our  settlements,  it  is  necessary  and  pro 
per  that  we  should  explicitly  understand  from  you,  the  chiefs  and  war 
riors,  whether  or  not  you  intend  to  aid,  harbour,  or  counsel  the  Sacs 
in  your  country ;  to  do  so  will  be  considered  as  a  declaration  of  Avar  on 
your  part. 

"  Your  great  American  father  is  the  friend  of  the  Red  Skins ;  he 
wishes  to  make  you  happy.  Your  chiefs  who  have  visited  Washington, 
know  him  well ;  he  is  mild  in  peace,  but  terrible  in  war  ;  he  will  ask  of 
no  people  what  is  not  right,  and  he  will  submit  to  nothing  \rrong ;  his 
power  is  great,  he  commands  all  the  warriors  of  the  American  people ; 
if  you  strike  us,  you  strike  him,  and  to  make  war  on  us,  you  wiJI  have 
your  country  taken  from  you,  your  annuity  money  will  be  forfeited,  and 
the  lives  of  your  people  must  be  lost.  We  speak  the  words  of  truth ; 
we  hope  they  will  sink  deep  in  your  hearts. 

"  The  Sacs  have  killed  eleven  of  our  people,  and  wounded  three  ;  our 
people  have  killed  eleven  of  the  Sacs  ;  it  was  but  a  small  detachment  of 
our  army  who  were  engaged  with  the  Sacs ;  when  the  main  body  of  our 
army  appeared,  the  Sacs  run. 

"  The  Sacs  have  given  you  bad  counsel,  they  tell  you  lies  and  no  truth ; 

416 


NOTE  B.— BLACK  HAWK  WAR.  417 

stop  your  ears  to  their  words ;  they  know  death  and  destruction  follows 
them  ;  they  want  you  to  unite  with  them,  wishing  to  place  you  in  the 
same  situation  with  themselves. 

"  We  have  told  you  the  consequences  of  uniting  with  our  enemies  ;  we 
hope,  however,  that  the  bright  chain  of  friendship  will  still  continue ; 
that  we  may  travel  the  same  road  in  friendship,  under  a  clear  sky. 
'  "We  have  always  been  your  friends  ;  we  have  said  that  you  would  be 
honest,  and  true  to  your  treaties ;  do  not  let  your  actions  deceive  ua. 
So  long  as  you  are  true  and  faithful  we  will  extend  the  hand  of  friend 
ship  to  you  and  your  children  ;  if  unfaithful  to  your  treaties,  you  must 
expect  to  share  the  fate  of  the  Sacs." 


NOTE  B.     Pa^e  265. 


o 


MINERAL  POINT,  May  8th,  1832. 
His  Excellency  JOHN  REYNOLDS  : 

Dear  Sir — The  exposed  situation  of  the  settlements  of  the  mining 
district  to  the  attack  of  the  Indian  enemy,  makes  it  a  matter  of  deep  and 
vital  interest  to  us,  that  we  should  be  apprized  of  the  movements  of  the 
mounted  men  under  your  excellency's  immediate  command.  Black 
Hawk  and  his  band,  it  is  stated  by  the  last  advices  we  have  had  on  this 
subject,  was  to  locate  himself  about  twenty  miles  above  Dixon's  Ferry, 
on  Rock  River.  Should  the  mounted  men  under  your  command  make 
an  attack  on  that  party,  we  would  be  in  great  danger  here ;  for  should 
you  defeat  Black  Hawk,  the  retreat  would  be  on  our  settlements.  There 
are  now  collected  within  twenty  miles  above  our  settlements,  about  two 
hundred  Winnebagoes,  and  should  the  Sauks  be  forced  into  the  Winno- 
bago  country,  many  of  the  wavering  of  that  nation  would  unite  with 
the  hostile  Sauks.  I  have  no  doubt  it  is  part  of  the  policy  of  this  ban 
ditti  to  unite  themselves  as  well  with  the  Pottawatamies,  as  Winneba 
goes.  It  is  absolutely  important  to  the  safety  of  this  country,  that  the 
people  here  should  be  apprized  of  the  intended  movements  of  your 
army.  Could  you  detach  a  part  of  your  command  across  the  Rock  River, 
you  would  afford  our  settlements  immediate  protection,  and  we  would 
promptly  unite  with  you,  with  such  a  mounted  force  as  we  could  bring 
into  the  field.  Judge  Gentry,  Colonel  Moore,  and  James  P.  Cox,  Esq., 
will  wait  on  your  excellency  and  receive  your  answer. 

I  am,  sir,  with  respect  and  esteem,  your  obedient  servant, 

HENRY  DODGE, 

Commanding  Michigan  Militia. 
VOL.  I.— 27 


418  NOTES   TO  CHAPTER  VI. 

NOTE  C.     Page  267. 

Narrative  of  the  killing  of  Felix  St.  Vrain,  Indian  agent  of  the  Sauks 
and  Foxes,  Aaron  Hawley,  and  others,  during  the  Black  Hawk  War. 
Compiled  from  the  personal  narrative  of  Mr.  Asahel  Higginbotham,  and 
Mrs.  Phebe  Baldwin,  the  widow  of  Mr.  Hawley : 

"  Aaron  Hawley,  William  Hale,  John  Fowler,  and  another  person, 
left  Dixon's  Ferry,  on  Rock  River,  on  the  22d  of  May,  1832,  for  the 
purpose  of  examining  the  country,  in  order  to  make  settlements.  They 
travelled  as  far  as  Buffalo  Grove,  and  there  found  a  white  man  lying 
dead  in  their  path ;  he  was  known  to  them,  his  name  was  Dearley  or 
Durley.  The  party  then  immediately  returned  to  Dixon's,  and  stayed 
until  the  next  day.  On  the  following  morning  they  were  joined  by  Mr. 
St.  Vrain,  the  Indian  agent,  Alexander  Higginbotham,  Aquilla  Floyd, 
and  one  Kinney.  This  party  then  came  to  Buffalo  Grove,  and  buried 
the  body  of  Durley.  They  then  started  for  Hamilton's  settlement, 
(Wiota,)  and  having  travelled  about  ten  miles  in  that  direction,  camped 
for  the  night. 

"At  daylight  the  next  morning  they  again  started,  proceeded  about 
three  miles,  and  then  stopped  to  cook  breakfast.  While  this  was  being  pre 
pared,  Higginbotham  discovered  some  tracks  of  ponies  or  Indian  horses, 
and  informed  his  companions.  They  immediately  pursued  their  journey 
some  three-fourths  of  a  mile,  when  they  discovered  an  Indian  on  their 
right,  and  instantly  afterward  saw  one  band  of  Indians  collected  on  their 
right,  then,  another  band  in  their  front,  and  next,  a  third  band  in  their 
rear.  The  whole  number  of  these  Indians,  as  it  was  afterward  learned, 
was  thirty-nine.  The  whole  party  of  the  whites  fled,  and  were  followed 
by  the  Indians.  John  Fowler  was  killed  in  about  a  quarter  of  a  mile 
from  the  place  where  the  Indians  were  first  seen,  St.  Vrain  in  half  a 
mile,  and  Hale  in  a  mile ;  the  party  lost  sight  of  the  Indians  after  run 
ning  about  eight  or  ten  miles. 

"  They  then  travelled  five  or  six  miles,  and  directed  their  course  toward 
Galena ;  they  pursued  this  direction  for  some  three  or  four  miles,  and 
then  fell  in  again  with  the  same  band  of  Indians,  who  gave  them  chase 
for  five  or  six  miles,  and  they  then  lost  sight  of  that  band  altogether.  The 
party  then  crossed  Brush  Creek,  and  fell  in  with  another  band ;  they 
immediately  turned  back  and  recrossed  the  creek.  After  crossing  back, 
they  travelled  some  six  or  eight  miles  to  the  waters  of  Plum  River,  and 
laid  by  until  it  was  dark,  and  then  started  for  Galena.  They  travelled 
all  night,  and  laid  by  all  the  next  day ;  travelled  all  the  second  night, 
and  on  the  morning  of  the  third  day  arrived  at  Galena. 


NOTE  C.— BLACK  HAWK  WAR.  419 

"  Aaron  Hawley's  horse  being  the  fastest,  he  left  the  company  when  the 
Indians  were  first  seen,  and  was,  as  supposed,  cut  off  by  them.  The  last 
that  was  seen  of  him,  he  was  making  his  course  toward  the  Pecatonica; 
the  body  of  Mr.  Hawley  was  never  found.  It  is  conjectured  that  his 
horse  was  mired  in  the  low  grounds,  and  he  was  thus  killed.  The  bodies 
of  the  other  persons  who  were  killed,  were  found  and  buried  about  a  week 
after  they  were  killed. 

"  The  above  account  has  been  procured  from  a  son  of  Mr.  Ilawley,  who 
resides  at  Argyle,  Lafayette  county,  about  two  miles  from  the  scene  of 
the  battle  of  the  Pecatonica." 

After  the  Black  Hawk  War  was  over,  treaties  were  made  at  Rock  Island 
with  the  Sacs  and  Foxes,  and  with  the  Winnebagoes,  in  which  was 
a  stipulation  for  the  delivering  up  to  the  Americans,  for  punishment,  the 
murderers  of  St.  Vrain,  the  Indian  agent.  In  connection  with  this  sub 
ject,  the  following  talk,  delivered  by  General  Dodge  to  the  Winnebago 
chiefs,  sufficiently  explains  itself: — 

An   Indian  Talk,   delivered  to  the   Chiefs  of  the  Winnebago  nation, 

after  the  Treaty  at  Rock  Island,  on  the  subject  of  the  murderers  of  St. 

Vrain  and  others. 

General  Dodge  said — "  Chiefs  of  the  Winnebagoes  :  When  I  last  met 
you  at  the  Four  Lakes,  I  told  you  that  a  cloud  of  darkness  would  rest  oa 
your  nation  until  you  delivered  up  the  eight  murderers  taken  by  you 
last  fall,  under  a  stipulation  of  the  treaty  made  at  Rock  Island.  You 
acted  in  that  respect  in  good  faith  :  the  murderers  have  made  their  es 
cape,  and  have  received  your  aid  and  protection  during  the  winter  oa 
Rock  River.  Your  agent,  Mr.  Gratiot,  stated  to  me  that  he  had  seen  four 
of  them  :  he  identified  the  Indian  who  killed  the  agent  of  the  Sacs  and 
Foxes,  Mr  St.  Vrain. 

"  It  becomes  my  duty  to  demand  of  you,  the  chiefs,  that  these  murderers 
be  delivered  to  me,  to  be  dealt  with  as  the  law  directs ;  their  escape  from 
justice  is  no  acquittal  of  them.  Is  it  right,  is  it  just,  that  men  who  pro 
fessed  to  be  our  friends,  and  when  the  government  of  the  United  States 
was  in  a  state  of  peace  with  them,  that  a  part  of  your  nation  should 
unite  with  the  Sacs  and  Fox  Indians  to  kill  our  weak  and  defenceless 
citizens  on  this  frontier,  and  charge  their  crimes  on  the  Sacs  ?  The  men 
who  participated  in  killing  the  United  States  Indian  agent,  and  his  mur 
derer,  whom,  as  Mr.  Gratiot,  your  agent,  states,  Mr.  St.  Vrain  had  fed 
and  treated  with  hospitality  and  friendship,  at  his  house  on  Rock  Island, 
but  two  weeks  before  he  was  killed ! — the  Indian  who  barbarously  cut  off 
his  hands  and  feet  before  his  death ! — have  been  permitted  by  you  to  go  at 


420  NOTES   TO   CHAPTER  VI. 

large,  covered  with  the  blood  of  an  innocent  man! — without  any  attempt, 
since  the  escape  of  these  murderers,  on  your  part,  to  bring  them  to  justice! 
This  state  of  things  is  in  direct  violation  of  every  principle  of  justice,  and 
contrary  to  all  usage  among  friendly  nations,  for  you  to  harbour  and 
conceal  the  murderers  of  our  people. 

"  I  now  distinctly  give  you  to  understand,  that  if  you  fail  to  adopt  mea 
sures  for  the  apprehension  of  these  fugitives  from  justice,  that  it  will 
lead  to  a  stoppage  of  your  annuities  by  the  government;  and  that  your 
chiefs  are  liable  to  be  arrested  and  detained  until  the  delivery  of  the 
murderers. 

"  Your  great  father,  the  President  of  the  United  States,  deals  justly  with 
all  nations  ;  whether  they  are  strong  or  weak  people,  he  will  ask  nothing 
of  them  that  is  not  right ;  and  he  will  submit  to  nothing  that  is  wrong. 
He  will  do  justice  to  all  the  red  skins.  Had  our  citizens  killed  any  of 
the  Winnebagoes,  when  in  a  state  of  peace,  they  would  have  been  punished 
according  to  the  laws  of  the  country  where  the  injury  was  committed. 
If  your  people  kill  ours,  they  must  be  punished  in  the  same  manner. 
The  laws  are  made  for  the  protection  of  all,  as  well  as  for  the  punishment 
of  all  who  violate  them. 

"  If  you  deliver  the  murderers,  to  be  dealt  with  according  to  law,  you  will 
give  us  a  proof  of  your  friendly  disposition,  and  that  you  are  disposed 
to  conform  to  those  friendly  relations  that  should  exist  among  different 
nations  of  people  ;  then  the  bright  chain  of  friendship  will  remain  entire 
and  unbroken  between  us. 

"Should  you,  however,  fail  to  deliver  the  murderers, your  road  will  be 
filled  with  thorns ;  and  the  sun  will  be  covered  with  a  dark  cloud,  which 
•will  rest  on  your  nation  until  the  blood  of  the  innocent  is  avenged  I" 


NOTE   D.     Page  278. 

Address  delivered  by  Colonel  Henry  Dodge,  to  the  volunteers  at 
Kirker's  place,  (on  the  head  of  Apple  River,)  on  their  march  to  Rock 
River,  June,  1832  :— 

Volunteers :  We  have  met  to  take  the  field ;  the  tomahawk  and  scalp- 
ing-knife  are  drawn  over  the  heads  of  the  weak  and  defenceless  inhabit 
ants  of  our  country.  Although  the  most  exposed  people  in  the  United 
States  and  territories,  living  as  we  do,  surrounded  by  savages,  not  a  drop 
of  the  blood  of  the  people  of  this  part  of  the  Territory  of  Michigan  has 
been  shed.  Let  us  unite,  my  brethren  in  arms  ;  let  harmony,  union, 
and  concert  exist ;  be  vigilant,  silent,  and  cool.  Discipline  and  obedi- 


NOTE  D.— BLACK  HAWK  WAR.  421 

ence  to  orders  will  make  small  bodies  of  men  formidable  and  invincible; 
without  order  and  subordination,  the  largest  bodies  of  armed  men  are  no 
better  than  armed  mobs.  We  have  every  thing  dear  to  freemen  at  stake, 
the  protection  of  our  frontiers,  and  the  lives  of  our  people.  Although 
we  have  entire  confidence  in  the  government  of  our  choice,  knowing  as 
we  all  do  that  ours  is  a  government  of  the  people,  where  the  equal  rights 
of  all  are  protected,  and  that  the  power  of  our  countrymen  can  crush 
this  savage  foe,  yet  it  will  take  time  for  the  government  to  direct  a  force 
sufficient  to  give  security  and  peace  to  the  frontier  people.  I  have,  gen 
tlemen,  as  well  as  yourselves,  entire  confidence,  both  in  the  President  of 
the  United  States,  and  the  present  distinguished  individual  at  the  head 
of  the  war  department,  that  our  Indian  relations  are  better  understood 
by  those  distinguished  individuals,  than  by  any  two  citizens  who  could 
be  selected  to  fill  their  stations.  They  have  often  met  our  savage  ene 
mies  on  the  field  of  battle,  where  they  have  conquered  them,  as  well  as 
in  council.  They  understand  well  all  the  artifice,  cunning,  and  strata 
gem  for  which  our  enemies  are  distinguished  ;  they  well  know  our  wants, 
arid  will  apply  the  remedy.  In  General  Atkinson,  in  whose  protection 
this  frontier  is  placed,  I  have  the  most  entire  confidence ;  he  is  well  ad 
vised  of  our  situation.  You  will  recollect  the  responsibility  he  assumed 
for  the  people  of  this  country  in  1827,  by  ascending  Wisconsin  with  six 
hundred  infantry,  and  one  hundred  and  fifty  mounted  men,  to  demand 
the  murderers  of  our  people  ;  many  of  us  had  the  honour  of  serving 
under  him  on  that  occasion.  lie  has  my  most  entire  confidence,  both  as 
a  man  of  talents  in  his  profession,  a  soldier,  and  a  gentleman.  If  our 
government  will  let  him  retain  the  command,  he  will  give  us  a  lasting 
peace,  that  will  insure  us  tranquillity  for  years.  He  knows  the  resources 
as  well  as  the  character  of  the  Indians  we  have  to  contend  with  ;  let  tha 
government  furnish  him  the  means,  and  our  troubles  will  be  of  short 
duration. 

What,  my  fellow  soldiers,  is  the  character  of  the  foe  we  have  to  con 
tend  with?  They  are  a  faithless  banditti  of  savages,  who  have  violated 
all  treaties ;  they  have  left  the  country,  and  the  nation,  of  which  they 
form  a  part ;  the  policy  of  these  marauders  and  robbers  of  our  people 
appears  to  be,  to  enlist  the  disaffected  and  restless  of  other  nations,  which 
will  give  them  strength,  and  resources  to  murder  our  people  and  burn 
their  property.  They  are  the  enemies  of  all  people,  both  the  whites  and 
Indians  ;  their  thirst  of  blood  is  not  to  be  satisfied  ;  they  are  willing  to 
bring  ruin  and  destruction  on  other  Indians,  in  order  to  glut  their  venr 
geance  on  us.  The  humane  policy  of  the  government  will  not  apply  to 
these  deluded  people:  like  the  pirates  of  the  sea,  their  hand  is  against 
every  man,  and  the  hand  of  every  man  shtwld  be  against  them.  Faith- 


422  .NOTES   TO  CHAPTER  VI. 

less  to  the  government  in  every  thing,  it  will  surely  be  the  policy  of  the 
government  to  let  them  receive  that  kind  of  chastisement  -which  will 
quiet  them  effectually,  and  make  a  lasting  example  for  others.  The 
future  growth  and  prosperity  of  our  country  is  to  be  decided  for  years 
by  the  policy  that  is  now  to  be  pursued  by  the  government  in  relation 
to  the  Indians.  Our  existence  as  a  people  is  at  stake,  and  great,  gen 
tlemen,  as  the  resources  of  our  government  are,  the  security  of  the  lives 
of  our  people  depends  on  our  vigilance,  caution,  and  bravery.  The 
assistance  of  our  government  may  be  too  late  for  us ;  let  us  not  await 
the  arrival  of  our  enemies  at  our  doors,  but  advance  upon  them,  fight 
them ;  watch  them,  and  hold  them  in  check.  Let  us  avoid  surprise  and 
ambuscades ;  let  every  volunteer  lie  with  his  arms  in  his  hands,  ready 
prepared  for  action,  so  that  when  each  volunteer  rises  to  his  feet,  the 
line  of  battle  will  be  formed.  If  attacked  in  the  night,  we  will  charge 
the  enemy  at  a  quick  pace  and  even  front.  The  eyes  of  the  people  of 
our  country  are  upon  us  ;  let  us  endeavour  by  our  actions  to  retain  the 
confidence  and  support  of  our  countrymen. 

II.  DODGE, 

Col.  commanding  Mounted  Militia. 
Gratiot's,  June,  1832. 


NOTE  E.     Page  273. 

Letter  of  General  Dodge  to  John  Achison,  Esq.,  on  the  subject  of  sup 
plying  provisions  to  the  citizens  of  the  mining  country  : — 

GRATIOT'S  GROVE,  June  14th,  1832. 

Dear  Sir — I  was  at  the  head-quarters  of  General  Atkinson,  at  the 
mouth  of  the  Fox  River  of  the  Illinois,  on  the  llth  of  this  instant ;  he 
is  actively  engaged  in  making  preparations  to  march  against  the  hostile 
Indians.  He  will  bring  into  the  field  about  3000  men.  I  will  copy  for 
your  information  that  part  of  my  order  as  it  respects  the  supplies  of 
provisions  for  the  use  of  the  troops  under  my  command: — "Your  de 
tached  situation  renders  it  impossible  for  me  to  furnish  subsistence  for 
your  troops ;  you  will  therefore  procure  supplies  upon  the  best  terms 
practicable,  and  in  the  issue,  not  exceed  the  United  States  allowance, 
and  at  the  same  time  be  careful  to  have  the  accounts  kept  accurately." 

I  have  copied  that  part  of  General  Atkinson's  order  in  which  you  are 
interested ;  although  it  would  seem  from  his  order,  that  the  rations  fur 
nished  those  not  under  arm^,  would  not  be  paid  for,  the  government  of 


NOTE  F.— BATTLE  OF  THE  PECATONICA.      423 

the  United  States  will  certainly  pay  for  rations  furnished  the  inhabitants, 
the  protection  of  whose  lives  makes  it  necessary  for  them  to  fort  them 
selves  to  avoid  the  tomahawk  and  scalping-knife.  The  people  of  the 
country  have  been  invited  here  by  the  agents  of  the  government  to  settle 
in  this  country,  to  work  the  lead-mines  ;  they  are  neither  intruders  nor 
squatters  on  the  public  lands  of  the  United  States.  The  government 
has,  by  the  industry  and  enterprise  of  the  people  of  the  mining  country, 
derived  all  the  advantages  which  they  could  have  anticipated  in  the 
working  and  exploration  of  their  mines  ;  the  government  has  no  regular 
troops  here  to  afford  protection  to  our  exposed  settlements,  and  I  have 
no  hesitation  in  saying  that  the  rations  furnished  women  and  children 
•will  be  paid  for  by  a  special  appropriation  to  be  made  by  Congress. 

The  only  difference  with  you,  as  I  confidently  believe,  will  be,  that 
the  amount  due  you  for  furnishing  the  troops  under  my  immediate  com 
mand  will  be  paid  for  promptly  by  the  war  department  of  the  govern 
ment,  and  for  the  residue,  a  special  law  will  have  to  be  passed.  This  is 
a  subject  of  great  importance  to  the  inhabitants  who  have  been  driven 
from  their  homes  by  the  savages.  Unless  they  can  be  furnished  on  the 
credit  of  the  government,  starvation  must  ensue,  as  many  of  them  are 
unable  to  leave  this  country,  and  they  are  also  unable  to  furnish  them 
selves.  I  will  thank  you  to  write  me  on  this  subject,  as  early  as 
possible. 

I  am,  with  much  respect,  your  obedient  servant, 

II.  DODGE, 
Col.  commanding  the  Militia  of  Iowa  County,  W.  T. 

Mr.  JOHN  ATCHISOX,  Galena. 


NOTE  F.     Page  276. 

BATTLE   OF   THE   PECATONICA. 

John  Messersmith,  Esq.,  of  Iowa  county,  relates  as  follows: — "Captain 
John  Sherman  commanded  a  company  of  volunteers  at  the  Blue  Mounds. 

"  Aubrey  and  his  family  kept  house  for  Ebenezer  Brigham  at  the 
Mounds. 

"  On  the  6th  of  June,  1832,  on  the  day  that  Aubrey  was  killed  by  the 
Indians,  John  Messersmith  and  his  family  left  Mound  Fort,  and  on  the 
same  evening  came  to  his  own  residence  at  Messer  Grove,  about  fifteen 
miles  west  of  the  mounds.  About  midnight,  an  express  arrived  from 
Dodge's  Fort,  and  informed  him  of  the  killing  of  Aubrey ;  and  Mrs.  Dodge 
Jiaving  sent  a  horse  for  Mrs.  Messersmith,  the  family  left  home  again, 


424  NOTES   TO  CHAPTER  VI. 

and  arrived  at  Dodge's  Fort  at  the  dawn  of  day.  Here  they  remained, 
and  some  days  after,  General  Dodge  came  home,  together  with  Thomas 
Jenkins  and  John  Messersmith,  Jun.,  from  an  excursion  down  in  Illi 
nois.  On  the  same  night,  an  express  arrived  from  Colonel  William  S. 
Hamilton,  informing  General  Dodge  of  the  killing  of  the  men  at  Spafford's 
Creek,  and  requesting  his  immediate  presence  at  Hamilton's  Fort.  General 
Dodge  immediately  sent  off  the  same  express  to  Captain  James  H.  Gentry 
at  Platte  Mounds,  with  orders  to  collect  as  many  men  as  he  could,  and 
to  proceed  instantly  to  Wiota,  Hamilton's  Settlement.  On  the  next  morn' 
ing,  General  Dodge,  Thomas  Jenkins,  and  John  Messersmith,  Jun., 
proceeded  to  the  Blue  Mounds." 

The  remainder  of  this  narrative  is  the  substance  of  the  relation  of  John 
Messersmith,  Jun.,  to  his  father. 

"  From  the  Blue  Mounds,  we  three  proceeded  toward  Hamilton's  Set* 
tlement,  and  slept  that  night  at  Fretwell's  diggings.  The  next  morning, 
we  pursued  our  course  toward  Hamilton's.  There  was  a  field  about 
three-fourths  of  a  mile  from  the  fort  ;  one  path  passed  around  the  field, 
and  another  nigher  path  avoided  the  field,  and  intersected  the  road  be 
tween  the  field  and  the  fort.  Near  this  intersection  the  Indians  were 
lying  in  ambush.  General  Dodge  and  his  two  companions  took  the  nigh 
path,  and  struck  the  road  nearer  to  the  fort  than  where  the  Indians  were 
lying,  perhaps  about  sixty  yards  from  them.  Here  they  met  a  German 
named  Apple,  on  horseback,  who  said  he  was  going  up  to  his  cabin,  near 
the  field,  for  his  blanket,  and  would  join  them  immediately.  Captain 
Gentry's  men  in  the  mean  while  had  arrived  at  the  fort  the  preceding 
day,  and  their  horses  were  already  saddled,  and  all  prepared  for  service. 
In  a  few  minutes  General  Dodge  and  his  companions  arrived  at  the  fort, 
and  before  they  dismounted  they  heard  the  report  of  guns,  and  imme 
diately  Apple's  horse  came  galloping  back,  bloody  and  without  a  rider. 
All  immediately  mounted  and  rode  with  speed  up  the  road  ;  they  soon 
found  the  mutilated  body  of  Apple,  and  riding  into  the  hazel  thickets 
skirting  the  road,  discovered  the  ground  where  the  Indians  had  been  in 
ambush.  They  followed  in  pursuit,  and  soon  came  in  sight  of  the  flying 
savages,  fourteen  in  number,  who  gave  their  war-cries  tauntingly  and 
"beckoned  for  our  men  to  follow.  They  were  pursued  for  about  five  miles, 
•when  our  men  came  to  the  east  branch  of  the  Pecatonica.  Here  General 
Dodge,  having  twenty-eight  men,  detailed  eight,  some  to  hold  the  horses 
and  others  to  keep  a  look-out,  and  with  the  remainder,  dismounted  and 
•waded  the  river ;  the  opposite  bank  was  covered  with  scattered  timber 
and  undergrowth,  and  the  ground  was  much  cut  up  and  indented  with 
the  floods  of  the  river,  causing  deep  cavities  and  miry  sloughs.  The 
men  were  ordered  to  trail  arms  and  keep  a  good  look-out  for  Indians. 


NOTE   G.— BATTLE   OF  WISCONSIN   HEIGHTS.  425 

In  less  than  five  minutes,  the  Indians,  who  were  lying  concealed  in  the 
cavities  caused  as  above  stated,  delivered  their  fire,  by  which  three  of  our 
men  fell.  The  battle  was  fought  hand  to  hand,  and  it  was  over  directly." 
The  descriptive  language  of  Mr.  Messersmith,  as  to  time,  is  thus  : — "  I 
fired  my  yager,  let  it  drop — drew  out  my  left  pisto],  fired  at  an  Indian, 
let  the  pistol  fall — drew  out  my  right  pistol,  fired  at  another  Indian,  and 
was  pouring  powder  in  my  hand  to  reload,  when  one  of  our  company 
said,  '  They  are  all  dead  I'  The  fact  was  so,  or  nigh  to  it,  as  the  whole 
number  of  Indians  except  one  were  killed." 

William  S.  Hamilton  had  gone  up  the  Mississippi  to  get  the  Sioux  and 
Menominees  to  assist  us.  He  arrived  with  them,  (about  two  hundred,) 
the  same  day  of  the  battle.  They  went  out  and  held  a  powwow  over 
the  bodies  of  the  dead  Indians,  and  literally  cut  them  to  pieces. 
They  did  not  remain  with  us,  but  on  the  next  day  returned  to  their 
homes. 


NOTE  G.     Page  281. 


b 


The  following  letter  appeared  in  the  Missouri  Republican  Extra,  of 
the  1st  August,  1832,  and  was  viewed  as  an  official  report  of  the  battlo 
of  Wisconsin  Heights : — 

"  CAMP  WISCONSIN,  July  22,  1832. 

"  We  met  the  enemy  yesterday,  near  the  Wisconsin  River,  and  oppo 
site  the  old  Sac  village,  after  a  close  pursuit  for  near  100  miles.  Our 
loss  was  one  man  killed  and  eight  wounded ;  from  the  scalps  taken  by 
the  Winnebagoes,  as  well  as  those  taken  by  the  whites,  and  the  Indians 
carried  from  the  field  of  battle,  we  must  have  killed  40  of  them.  The 
number  of  wounded  is  not  known  ;  we  can  only  judge  from  the  number 
killed,  that  many  were  wounded.  From  their  crippled  situation  I  think 
we  must  overtake  them,  unless  they  descend  the  Wisconsin  by  water. 
If  you  could  place  a  field-piece  immediately  on  the  Wisconsin  that 
would  command  the  river,  you  might  prevent  their  escape  by  water. 
General  Atkinson  will  arrive  at  the  Blue  Mounds  on  the  24th  with  the 
regulars,  and  a  brigade  of  mounted  men.  I  will  cross  the  Wisconsin 
to-morrow,  and  should  the  enemy  retreat  by  land,  he  will  probably 
attempt  crossing  some  twenty  miles  above  Prairie  du  Chien  ;  in  that 
event  the  mounted  men  would  want  some  boats  for  the  transportation 
of  their  arms,  ammunition  and  provisions.  If  you  could  procure  for  ug 


426  NOTES  TO  CHAPTER  VI. 

some  Mackinaw  boats,  in  that  event,  as  well  as  some  provision  supplies, 
it  would  greatly  facilitate  our  views.     Excuse  great  haste. 
"  I  am,  with  great  respect  your  obedient  servant, 

(Signed,)  II.  DODGE, 

"  Col.  commanding  Michigan  Mounted  Volunteers." 

The  above  letter  is  extracted  from  Niles's  Register  of  August  18th, 
1832,  and  it  does  not  appear  to  whom  it  is  addressed ;  but  it  is  highly 
probable  that  it  is  the  letter  which  was  sent  to  the  commandant  of  Fort 
Crawford,  at  Prairie  du  Chien,  which  Captain  Estes  carried  as  express. 

The  singularity  of  the  language  of  the  letter  will  be  evident,  when  it 
is  considered  that  General  Henry  had  the  chief  command  at  the  battle 
of  Wisconsin  Heights,  and  not  Colonel  Dodge. 


NOTE  H.     Page  283. 

GENERAL  ORDERS  AFTER  THE  BATTLE  OF  BAD  AXE. 

HEAD  QUARTERS,  FIRST  ARMY  CORPS  or  THE  NORTHWESTERN  ARMY, 
Banks  of  the  Mississippi  River,  near  Bad  Axe  River, 

Aug.  3d,  1832. 
Order  No.  65. 

The  victory  achieved  by  the  volunteers  and  regular  troops  over  the 
enemy  yesterday  on  this  ground,  affords  the  commanding  general  an 
opportunity  of  expressing  his  approbation  of  their  brave  conduct.  The 
whole  of  the  troops  participated  in  the  honour  of  the  combat ;  some  of 
the  corps  were  however  more  fortunate  than  others,  in  being  thrown 
from  their  position  in  order  of  battle,  more  immediately  in  conflict  with 
the  enemy.  These  were  Henry's  brigade,  Dodge's  battalion,  the 
regular  troops,  Leach's  regiment  of  Posey's  brigade,  and  the  Spy  bat 
talion  of  Alexander's  brigade. 

In  order  that  individual  merit,  and  the  conduct  of  the  corps  may  be 
properly  represented  to  the  department  of  war,  and  the  general  com 
manding  the  Northwestern  Army,  the  commanding  general  of  this  divi 
sion  directs  that  commanding  officers  of  brigades  and  independent 
corps,  make  to  him  written  reports  of  the  conduct  and  operation  of  their 
respective  commands  in  the  action. 

By  order  of  Brigadier-general  ATKINSON. 

ALB.  S.  JOHNSTON, 
A.  D.  C.  and  A.  Adjutant-general. 


NOTE  I.— CHOLERA  IN  THE  ARMY.  427 


NOTE  I.     Page  284. 

The  following  letter  from  General  Scott  to  Governor  Keynolds,  is  taken 
from  the  Louisville  Advertiser  of  July  27th,  1832  :— 

HEAD  QUARTERS  N.  W.  ARMY, 

Chicago,  July  15th,  1832. 
Sir, 

To  prevent,  or  to  correct  the  exaggerated  rumours  in  respect  to  the 
existence  of  cholera  at  this  place,  I  address  myself  to  your  excellency. 
Four  steamers  were  engaged  at  Buffalo,  to  transport  United  States  troops 
and  supplies  to  Chicago.  In  the  headmost  of  these  boats,  the  Sheldon 
Thompson,  I,  with  my  staff,  and  four  companies,  a  part  of  Colonel  Eustis's 
command,  arrived  here  on  the  night  of  the  10th  instant.  On  the  8th,  all 
on  board  were  in  high  health  and  spirits  ;  but  the  next  morning,  six 
cases  of  undoubted  cholera  presented  themselves.  The  disease  rapidly 
spread  itself  for  the  next  three  days.  About  one  hundred  and  twenty 
persons  have  been  affected. 

i  Under  a  late  act  of  Congress,  six  companies  of  rangers  are  to  be  raised 
and  marched  to  this  place.  General  Dodge,  of  Michigan,  is  appointed 
major  of  the  battalion,  and  I  have  seen  the  names  of  the  captains,  but  I 
do  not  know  where  to  address  them.  I  am  afraid  that  the  report  from 
this  place,  in  respect  to  cholera,  may  seriously  retard  the  raising  of  this 
force.  I  wish,  therefore,  that  your  excellency  would  give  publicity  to 
the  measures  I  have  adopted  to  prevent  the  spread  of  this  disease,  and 
of  my  determination  not  to  allow  any  junction  or  communication  between 
uninfected  and  infected  troops.  The  war  is  not  at  an  end,  and  may  not 
be  brought  to  a  close  for  some  time.  The  rangers  may  reach  the  theatre 
of  operations  in  time  to  give  the  final  blow.  As  they  approach  this  place, 
I  shall  take  care  of  their  health  and  general  wants. 

I  have  the  honour  to  be,  &c.,  &c., 

WINFIELD  SCOTT. 

His  Excellency  GOVERNOR  REYNOLDS. 

The  ravages  made  by  this  dreaded  disease,  in  General  Scott's  army, 
has  been  thus  estimated : — Of  the  two  hundred  and  eight  recruits  attached 
to  the  command  of  Colonel  Twiggs,  thirty  died  of  the  cholera,  and  one 
hundred  and  fifty-five  deserted  for  fear  of  it.  Of  the  three  companies  of 
artillery  under  Colonel  Twiggs,  consisting  of  one  hundred  and  fifty-two 
men,  twenty-six  died,  and  twenty  deserted.  Of  Colonel  Cumming's  de 
tachment,  eighty  men,  twenty-one  died,  and  four  deserted.  Of  Colonel 
Crane's  artillery,  two  hundred  and  twenty  men,  fifty-five  died.  Of  the 


428  NOTES   TO  CHAPTER  VI. 

eight  hundred  and  fifty  men  who  left  Buffalo,  not  more  than  two  hundred 
•were  left,  fitted  to  take  the  field,  at  the  latest  accounts  from  the  army 
tinder  Major-general  Scott.  (Niles's  Register,  vol.  xlii.  423.) 

Of  the  men  who  deserted,  the  following  extract  of  a  letter  from  John 
Norvell,  of  Detroit,  dated  July  12th,  1832,  gives  a  most  deplorable  and 
melancholy  account : — 
* 

"  Of  the  deserters  scattered  all  over  the  country,  some  have  died  in  the 
woods,  and  their  bodies  been  devoured  by  wolves ;  (I  use  the  language 
of  a  gallant  young  officer ;)  others  have  taken  their  flight  to  the  world 
of  spirits  without  a  companion  to  close  their  eyes,  or  console  the  last 
moments  of  their  existence.  Their  straggling  survivors  are  occasionally 
seen  marching,  some  of  them  know  not  whither,  with  their  knapsacks 
on  their  backs,  shunned  by  the  terrified  inhabitants  as  the  source  of  a 
mortal  pestilence."  (Pennsylvania  Inquirer,  1832.) 


NOTE  K.     Page  295. 

The  following  note,  condensed  from  the  report  of  Judge  A.  B.  Wood 
ward,  on  the  land  titles  in  the  Michigan  Territory,  made  on  the  12th  of 
March,  1806,  to  the  House  of  Representatives,  exhibits  a  curious  picture 
of  tenure  in  the  French  colonist,  and  may  be  viewed  as  a  powerfully 
operating  check  to  the  early  settlement  of  the  French  possessions  by 
agriculturists.  The  policy  of  the  United  States,  in  the  encouragement 
of  occupation  of  the  country  by  agricultural  settlement,  affords  a  vivid 
contrast  to  that  which  was  pursued  both  by  the  French  and  English, 
•while  the  western  region  was  under  their  control. 

Judge  Woodward  observes,  "that  the  French  conceived  the  bold  project 
of  connecting  their  settlements  by  a  chain  of  fortifications  from  the  St. 
Lawrence  to  that  of  the  Mississippi ;  and,  by  tightening  it  on  the  back  of  the 
British  possessions,  to  reduce  them  to  the  smallest  possible  limits.  The 
•western  parts  of  New  York  and  Pennsylvania,  the  State  of  Ohio,  and  the 
Territory  of  Michigan,  still  exhibit  the  monuments  of  their  labours.  But 
what  can  the  best  conceived  designs  avail  against  a  defect  of  physical 
force  ?  Agriculture  is  the  only  sure  basis  on  which  to  support  a  distant 
settlement,  and  the  English  soon  discovered  the  necessity  of  application 
to  it.  The  French,  relying  on  the  military  ardour  of  their  nation,  and 
neglecting  those  minute  causes  from  which  the  sources  of  all  permanent 


NOTE  K.— FRENCH  LAND  GRANTS.         429 

pre-eminence  must  be  derived,  gave  scarcely  the  least  encouragement  to 
agriculture. 

"  Among  the  earlier  claims  is  the  grant  of  De  la  Mothe  Cadillac  to 
an  inhabitant  of  Detroit,  Francois  Fafard  de  Lorme,  in  the  year  1707, 
the  conditions  of  which  are  nearly  similar  to  that  of  the  Marquis  de 
Beauharnois,  governor  and  lieutenant-general  of  New  France  and  Louisi 
ana,  to  St.  Aubin,  which  is  another  of  the  said  claims.  That  of  De 
la  Mothe  conveys  two  arpens  of  front,  by  twenty  of  depth,  (about 
thirty-two  American  acres,)  for  a  colonist  and  his  family  in  an  American 
•wilderness.  But  what  are  the  conditions  of  these  grants,  contrasted  with 
an  American  estate  in  fee-simple  ? 

"  They  are  no  less  than  these : — 

"  I.  To  pay  a  reserved  rent  of  fifteen  livres  a  year  to  the  crown,  for  ever. 

"  II.  To  begin  to  clear  and  improve  the  concession  within  three  months 
from  the  date  of  the  grant. 

"  III.  All  of  the  timber  is  reserved  to  the  crown,  whenever  it  may  be 
•wanted  for  the  fortifications,  or  for  the  construction  of  boats,  or  other 
vessels  ;  (that  is  to  say,  when  reduced  to  plain  language,  it  may  be  taken 
at  the  pleasure  of  any  military  officer  who  may  happen  to  have  the  com 
mand  of  the  country.) 

"  IV.  The  property  of  all  mines  and  minerals,  if  any  be  found,  does  not 
pass  by  the  grant. 

"  V.  The  privilege  of  hunting  hares,  rabbits,  partridges  and  pheasants 
does  not  pass. 

"  VI.  The  grantee  is  to  come  and  carry,  plant  or  help  to  plant,  a  long 
maypole  before  the  door  of  the  principal  manor-house,  on  the  first  daj 
of  May  in  every  year. 

"VII.  All  the  grains  of  the  grantee  are  to  be  carried  to  the  moulin 
bannal,  or  mill  of  the  manor,  to  be  ground,  paying  the  tolls  sanctioned  bj 
the  coutume  de  Paris. 

"  VIII.  On  every  sale  of  the  land  a  species  of  duty  is  to  be  paid,  termed 
the  lods  et  vente;  which  in  the  English  law  might  bear  the  name  of  a  fine 
of  alienation,  but  is  more  intelligible  to  an  American  ear  under  the  appel 
lation  of  a  tax  on  the  sale  of  the  land.  This  tax,  by  the  coutume  de  Paris, 
forms  no  inconsiderable  proportion  of  the  value  of  the  whole. 

"  IX.  Previous  to  a  sale,  the  grantee  is  to  give  information  to  the 
government,  and  if  the  government  is  willing  to  take  it  at  the  price 
offered  to  him,  it  is  to  have  it. 

"X.  The  grantees  cannot  mortgage  it  without  the  consent  of  the 
government  previously  obtained. 


430  NOTES   TO  CHAPTER   VI. 

"XI.  For  ten  years  the  grantee  is  not  permitted  to  work,  or  cause  any 
person  to  work,  directly  or  indirectly,  at  the  profession  and  trade  of  a 
blacksmith,  locksmith,  armorer,  or  brewer. 

"XII.  All  effects  and  articles  of  merchandise  sent  to  or  brought  from 
Montreal,  must  be  sold  by  the  grantee  himself,  or  other  person,  who,  with 
his  family,  is  a  French  resident,  and  not  by  engagtes,  or  clerks,  or  foreign 
ers,  or  strangers. 

"  XIII.  The  grantee  is  not  to  sell  to  a  foreigner,  without  special  per 
mission. 

"  XIV.  If  he  sells  to  a  foreigner  with  permission,  the  rent  reserved  is 
greatly  increased ;  and  the  duties  of  the  coutume,  in  such  cases,  are  to 
be  paid. 

"  XV.  He  is  not  to  sell  or  trade  brandy  to  the  Indians,  on  pain  of  con 
fiscation. 

"XVI.  The  public  charges  and  servitudes,  and  royal  and  seigneurial 
rights  of  the  coutume  de  Paris,  are  reserved  generally. 

"XVII.  The  grantee  is  to  suffer  on  his  lands  that,  which  may  be  thought 
necessary  for  the  public  utility. 

"XVIII.  The  grantee  is  to  make  his  fences  as  it  shall  be  regulated. 

"XIX.  He  is  to  assist  in  making  his  neighbour's  fences  when  called 
upon. 

"XX.  He  is  to  cause  his  land  to  be  alienated,  that  is,  surveyed,  set 
apart,  at  his  expense. 

"  XXI.  He  is  to  obtain  a  brevet  of  confirmation,  from  Europe,  within 
two  years. 

"  With  a  system  of  policy  so  narrow  and  illiberal,  it  was  impossible  for 
France  to  raise  in  her  settlements  a  strong  agricultural  interest,  alike  the 
support  of  colonies  in  peace,  and  their  defence  in  war. 

"  In  the  Territory  of  Michigan,  the  policy  of  Great  Britain  was  not 
better  than  that  of  France.  During  the  twenty  years  this  territory  be 
longed  to  her,  she  withheld  all  grants  of  land." 


NOTE  L.     Page  297. 

Letter  of  General  Henry  Dodge,  to  the  Hon.  Austin  E.  Wing,  delegate 
in,  Congress  from  Michigan,  on  a  division  of  the  Territory : — 


NOTE   L.— ON  DIVISION   OF  THE   TERRITORY. 

DODGEVILLE,  February  10th,  1829. 


Dear  Sir, 


In  my  last  communication,  I  promised  you,  as  early  as  possible,  to 
present  my  views  as  to  the  claims  the  people  have  on  the  national  legis 
lature  for  a  division  of  the  territory.  To  you  the  subject  is  not  a  new 
one ;  you  know  well  the  many  inconveniences  and  hardships  the  people 
have  to  encounter  in  this  remote  part  of  the  Territory  of  Michigan.  Our 
relations  are  entirely  with  the  General  Government,  and  not  with  the  penin 
sula  of  Michigan ;  our  trade  is  immediately  with  the  States  of  Illinois  and 
Missouri ;  taxation  and  representation  should  go  together,  and  it  will  rea 
dily  appear,  on  examination  of  the  returns  made  by  the  superintendent  of 
the  United  States7  lead-mines,  that  the  people  of  this  mining  country  have 
paid  a  greater  amount  of  taxes  than  any  equal  number  of  citizens  in  the 
United  States,  or  Territories  ;  and  that,  a  direct  tax  upon  the  labour  of  the 
•whole  community.  It  cannot  be  expected,  that  a  delegate,  elected  from  the 
peninsula  of  Michigan,  can  understand  the  wants  of  a  people  so  detached 
and  remote  from  him,  however  talented  and  zealous  he  may  be  to  repre 
sent  truly  the  interests  of  this  detached  territory  of  the  United  States. 
There  is  no  branch  of  the  government  in  which  the  people  are  more 
interested,  than  the  just  and  impartial  administration  of  the  laws  of  the 
country,  and  those  laws  should  be  made  to  suit  the  condition  of  the 
people  over  whom  they  are  to  operate :  hence  the  necessity  of  a  local 
legislation,  following  a  division  of  the  territory.  At  present,  we  have 
but  two  representatives  for  five  counties  ;  there  are  thirteen  in  the  terri 
tory,  and  the  seat  of  our  territorial  legislature  is  from  800  to  1000  miles 
from  us.  It  is  not  to  be  expected  that  so  small  a  representation  can 
effect  any  important  measure  for  this  remote  section  of  the  territory, 
when  the  legislature  is  permitted  to  sit  but  sixty  days ;  it  is,  in  fact,  but 
a  nominal  representation.  The  great  interests  of  a  growing  and  inte 
resting  territory,  which  bids  fair  soon  to  become  a  member  of  the  great 
confederation  of  States,  must  show  the  propriety  of  granting  the  division 
of  the  territory ;  for  it  cannot  be  expected  that  the  General  Government 
will  permit  the  people  of  this  country  to  be  attached  to  the  State  of 
Michigan.  The  legislative  council  have  twice  memorialized  Congress  on 
this  subject,  as  well  as  the  legislature  of  the  State  of  Missouri.  Michigan 
never  can  become  a  State,  with  us  attached  to  them.  Another  strong 
reason  why  we  should  be  separated  from  the  Territory  of  Michigan,  is, 
we  are  surrounded  by  Indians ;  some  friendly,  others,  who  are  still 
hostile  to  the  extension  of  the  American  empire,  and  to  the  people  of 
this  country,  A  local  legislature,  and  a  separate  government  here,  woul<J 


432  NOTES  TO  CHAPTER  VI. 

place  the  people  of  this  country  in  a  situation  to  defend  themselves,  and 
have  the  aid  of  the  constituted  authorities  near  them  ;  it  would  be  almost 
impossible  to  receive  aid  from  the  peninsula  of  Michigan.  Mounted 
companies  of  riflemen  would  be  the  best  arm  of  defence  to  afford  this 
country  protection ;  the  couutry  is  well  adapted  for  mounted  men  to  act 
effectually  and  promptly.  Recent  events  at  Rock  Island  prove  the  se 
cret  influence  that  exists  over  the  minds  of  the  Indians ;  and  I  have  no 
hesitation  in  saying,  that  so  long  as  that  influence  exists,  we  will  have 
occasional  difficulties  with  the  Indians  on  our  borders. 

I  fear  I  have  trespassed  on  your  time  and  patience ;  the  importance 
of  the  subjects,  connected  with  the  best  interests  of  this  country,  must 
plead  my  apology. 

I  am,  dear  sir,  with  great  respect  and  esteem, 

Your  obedient  servant, 

II.  DODGE. 


END  OF  VOLUME  I. 


STEREOTYPED   BY  L.  JOHXSOX  AND  CO. 
PHILADELPHIA.. 


UNIVERSITY    OF    CALIFORNIA 
LIBRARY 

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